MARTA Order of Completion

This item a single page map of the planned stages for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit System created by Parsons Brinckerhoff Tudor Bechtel. The map was surrounded by a briefing on the map and other supporting files included in the distribution. Parsons Brinckerhoff Tudor Bechtel is an engineering consulting firm for general projects selected by MARTA to lead the initial train line construction.. The map was sent out among other information including the engineering design teams for each station and railway section. The map was sent out to many different engineering and architectural firms. Each station had around 2-3 firms working on architecture, landscaping, and mechanical aspects of the project. Each station’s prime was different from each other. No firm directed the design of multiple stations. The MARTA construction project was largely decentralized with responsibilities allocated by the main consulting firm PBTB to each station primes and then to the specific technical firms supporting them. A very apparent feature of the distributed map is which sections of the railway were to be completed first. The East/West line is almost entirely completed in stages one and two while the North/South line was completed mainly in the 5 and 6 stage. The project progressed very quickly. Just a month after the selection of the engineering consultants for the project in January demolition and construction began in 1974 (itsmarta.com). The funding for the stages of construction grew quickly starting in 1970 with a $400,000 grant and then receiving 69.5 million dollar federal grant in 1973 (itsmarta.com). Overall the development and funding of MARTA occurred quickly with an initial focus on East to West train routes. The document provides insights into location priorities and the design strategy.

Works Cited:

Hunt, James. James M. Hunt Architectual Records. Athens, 1977.

"History of MARTA - 1970-1979". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on February 4, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2008.