MARTA has received a $25 million federal grant to help fund a transit hub in south DeKalb.
The Federal Transit Administration grant, announced this week, will cover two-thirds of the costs to build a hub next to the Gallery at South DeKalb on Candler Road.
“This support from the FTA underscores the importance and long-term economic impacts of improving and expanding transit infrastructure and highlights the vital role MARTA continues to play in keeping this region connected and growing,” MARTA Board Chair Katie Powers said in a statement.
The hub will serve as a transfer station for the Candler Road, Rainbow Way, Flat Shoals and Boulevard/Tilson Road bus routes. It will also feature park-and-ride availability.
MARTA, DeKalb County, Atlanta and the FTA have been studying transit services in south DeKalb for many years. The county’s transit master plan, approved in 2019, called for improved connections between existing bus routes and said a hub at the Gallery at South DeKalb could improve residents’ access to jobs.
The full project is expected to cost $37.5 million. What isn’t covered by the grant will be paid for from MARTA’s capital budget.
“We are grateful for our partnership with CEO Greenwood, MARTA and the FTA who are working diligently to bring this much-needed project to reality,” DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said in a statement. “The South DeKalb Transit Hub will enhance transit connectivity to employment opportunities and other resources throughout metro Atlanta.”
MARTA is currently studying several potential new bus rapid transit routes, one of which would connect with the South DeKalb Transit Hub. The scenario calls for a route that would travel from Atlanta along Interstate-20 to the hub, before continuing down I-20 to Stonecrest.
Rapid bus lines travel along exclusive bus lanes and take fewer stops than typical routes, making them a speedier. BRT is one of the options, along with light and heavy rail, that’s been proposed to improve transit in south DeKalb.
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