MARTA starts construction on new rapid transit lines

A new type of MARTA bus route is coming to southwest Atlanta and East Point. Construction was set to start today for bus stops on the system's first two ART lines. Fox 5's Hernan Gutierrez reports on what it will mean for riders. MARTA is starting work on its two new arterial rapid transit lines. This new route will bring improvements to bus stops like these, which include screens at those bus stops so you can look at wait times in real time. One official tells me that the goal here is to better connect people who ride these lines with the West End and East Point transit centers. I use it like pretty often, Monday to Thursday. Selene Suakodi relies on the 95 MARTA bus to get to school at Atlanta Metro State College. I usually come here around 530-ish, wait for the bus to take me to the train station, the West End train station over there, after class, so I can go get on the train and go home. Riders like Suakodi might start to notice construction along Route 95 on Metropolitan Parkway and Route 78 on Cleveland Avenue. The work will bring better shelters and bike racks for stops on MARTA's new arterial rapid transit lines. Larry Prescott with MARTA says improvements are coming to the parts of those routes with the highest number of riders. The larger platforms and shelters out there will accommodate more people and give a little bit better protection as well as some communication. Just like MARTA's A-Line and other future bus rapid transit lines, buses on these new lines will get priority at traffic signals and make fewer stops. Though these ART lines won't have dedicated bus lanes. According to Prescott, this will still lead to less time between buses. That connectivity of the north-south-east-west connects the communities and gets that ridership in and gives the option of going north and south. MARTA says service shouldn't be interrupted during construction, but riders will still need to keep an eye out for temporary bus stops. Suakodi welcomes the work to come. I get home around 7 p.m. and I leave home at 7 a.m. So if it makes it faster, then I'm all in for it. It's pretty, that's pretty good. Those new bus stops will be ready for riders to use as soon as work wraps up. Prescott says that construction should be finished by mid-2029. In southwest Atlanta, Hernan Gutierrez, Fox 5 News.