Many Atlantans have been waiting for a light rail on the Atlanta Beltline for years. While the topic has support on both sides, both for and against a Beltline light rail, right now, the city plans to continue discussing the future for a light rail project.
The Atlanta Beltline says,
Transit has always been at the core of the Atlanta Beltline. Conceived as a 22-mile transportation corridor where pedestrian-friendly light rail transit and urban trails coexist, the Beltline aims to create ‘whole communities’ where people can easily access jobs, services, goods, amenities, and the City’s larger transit network without relying on cars.
And now, we’ve got updates on the latest Beltline light rail proposal: a $3.5 billion plan to bring transit to the Beltline.
What is the new Beltline light rail proposal?
Beltline Project Engineer Shaun Green presented, according to a report by Rough Draft Atlanta,
various alignment plans for the Northwest Quadrant, which would connect Bankhead to Armour Yards… [and] One plan … had an elevated rail line running down the center of Peachtree Road (think Chicago’s L or portions of the New York subway in Queens or Brooklyn), but the “preferred” corridor parallels the CSX freight line.
Why is the CSX freight line the preferred path?
A couple good reasons, actually. The CSX Alignment is currently the lowest cost construction-wise, and offers the fastest travel time for passengers.
It would let passengers off at Piedmont Hospital campus, the quadrant’s largest employee center, making daily commuting much easier.
Rough Draft Atlanta also reported the approximate locations for the stations in each quadrant:
The Northwest Quadrant
- Donald Lee Hollowell in Bankhead
- Marietta Boulevard South
- Marietta Boulevard North
- Howell Mill Road at CSX Howell Yard
- Northside Drive
- Collier Road/Piedmont Hospital
- Peachtree Street North
- Armour Yards
The Southwest Quadrant
- Murphy Avenue
- Lawton Street
- Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard
- Langhorn/Enota
- Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
- Joseph E. Boone Boulevard (before connecting at Hollowell Parkway)
The Southeast Quadrant
- Metropolitan Parkway
- Pryor Road
- Milton Avenue
- Hill Street
- Boulevard
- Glenwood Avenue
Of course currently, all of these are approximations and plans: so don’t start planning your routes quite yet.
Why does the Beltline light rail project cost so much money?
Here’s how all of the estimates break down:
- Northwest quadrant – 5.5 miles – $800 million
- Northeast quadrant – 4.7 miles – $520 million
- Southwest quadrant – 3.7 miles – $375 million
- Southeast quadrant – 4.3 miles – $435 million
- Crosstown West – 4 miles – $500 million
- Crosstown East – 2 miles – $400 million
Then, added costs of support facilities ($210 million) and transit vehicles ($270 million) make up the rest of the cost estimates.
What’s next?
So are we going to see construction begin soon? Hold your horses, there. The Atlanta Beltline will host another meeting about potential plans and the future of the light rail in a meeting this fall. So stay tuned, Atlanta! As soon as we know, we’ll let you know!