Significant changes are in store for MARTA’s largest and busiest transit station, beginning in about five weeks.

Following several years of planning, design modifications, and projected cost increases, MARTA is set to begin its transformation in July of Five Points station, a centralized downtown hub that sees tens of thousands of riders each day.

Major changes to downtown bus routes and street-level access to the station are expected, with some closures spanning deep into 2025.

MARTA officials now estimate the Five Points overhaul will cost $230 million. Funding is being sourced through the More MARTA Atlanta half-penny sales tax approved by voters in 2016, with an additional $13.8 million contributed from the State of Georgia, and $25 million by way of a Federal RAISE Grant.

A refined preview depicting how the opened-up transit hub could look and function. Courtesy of MARTA

The goal is to remake the bunker-like transit hub into a “vibrant city center,” with better transit connectivity, improved customer amenities, and increased safety, with perks including communal spaces, public art, and sections for urban agriculture, according to a MARTA announcement this week.   

The first phase of Five Points work will begin in early July with deconstruction of the station’s concrete canopy, a means of opening up the 1970s facility. Street-level access to and from the station is expected to remain open until July 29.

Also on July 29, all Five Points restrooms will close. StationSoccer, MARTA Market, and the station’s community garden will temporarily shut down during construction, and access tunnels to the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and Underground Atlanta will also close.

Beyond the demolition work, future phases will see a new canopy installed over the station for better ventilation and natural light. MARTA is also creating a centralized bus hub at Five Points and reconnecting Broad Street to pedestrian traffic. Unlike station closures, no timeline for that work was provided this week.

Collie Greenwood, MARTA general manager and CEO, says the station overhaul will improve the ridership experience for current customers and make MARTA transit a more appealing choice for downtown residents. “Encouraging use of public transit to destinations surrounding Five Points reduces the need for surface parking downtown,” Greenwood noted in a prepared statement, “allowing spaces to be redeveloped as affordable housing, greenspaces, and other amenities that improve quality of life and enhance a city landscape.”

Planning documents for the Five Points project showed the station serves 55,000 riders per day on average with rail and bus service. According to MARTA, the station sees roughly 12,000 daily entries and exits, and about 4,500 transfers between buses, or from buses to rail, each day. [CLARIFICATION: 1:34 p.m., May 29: MARTA officials send word the station serves 25,000 riders on average today.] 

MARTA

MARTA

MARTA officials stressed this week that no Five Points platform levels will be impacted, and that all rail service will continue as scheduled.

Elevator service between rail lines, however, will be more complicated, as outlined in the below breakdown provided by MARTA.  

BEGINNING JULY 6:  

MARTA says the following eight bus routes will relocate to Georgia State station for roughly 18 months:

  • 21 – Memorial Drive
  • 42 – Pryor Road
  • 49 – McDonough Boulevard
  • 55 – Jonesboro Road
  • 186 – Rainbow Road Drive/South DeKalb

These routes will be relocated to King Memorial station:

  • 26 – Marietta Street/Perry Boulevard
  • 899 – Old Fourth Ward

And this route will go to Civic Center station:

  • 816 – North Highland Avenue

Also of note:

  • Routes operated by MARTA’s regional transit partners—CobbLinc, Ride Gwinnett, and Xpress—will run as scheduled. Meanwhile, MARTA bus routes 3, 40, and 813 will be through-routed to maintain service to downtown.

BEGINNING JULY 29:  

No MARTA customers will be allowed to enter or exit the station at street level for an estimated 18 months. The limited elevator accessibility for certain rail transfers will also begin.

According to MARTA, any customer that requires an elevator to transfer between the North and East lines, and the South and West lines, will instead need to exit trains at either Georgia State or Peachtree Center stations and board a shuttle to transfer.

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