Transportation throughout the metro Atlanta area is getting a facelift. Plans to expand Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority are well underway. MARTA’s board of directors gave the timeline a thumbs up late last month. The total estimated cost is $2.7 Billion—the largest financial investment MARTA has ever made to its infrastructure.
The entire More Marta campaign includes a total of 16 projects. The first few projects are the least expensive and include a new bus line connecting Midtown Atlanta to downtown’s Summerhill community. Another route will travel from the eastside of the beltline to the North Avenue MARTA station. One of the more labor intensive projects would add 29 miles of light rail throughout the city of Atlanta. The campaign also entails installing 22 miles of commuter rail in Clayton County. The planned rail additions would nearly double the size of MARTA’s existing 48-mile rail system. The purpose behind More MARTA is to accommodate an increasing amount of residents who live within the city limits of Atlanta.