“We have executed all necessary agreements with our partners at the Federal Transit Administration/U.S. Department of Transportation and have entered into contractual obligations with multiple contractors,” MARTA CEO Corey Greenwood said in a letter to the mayor. “The success of any public construction project requires thorough planning early on, strong public engagement throughout the process, and the fortitude to see the project through to completion.”
A spokesman for Dickens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monday’s letter came after Dickens requested last week that Five Points be postponed for renovations. MARTA plans to remove the concrete canopy over the station plaza and install a translucent roof, build new bus stops at ground level and add green space.
MARTA recently announced plans to reroute bus routes connecting to Five Points starting July 6 and close pedestrian access to the transit hub starting July 29 in preparation for the work.
During the work, rail customers will still be able to transfer at Five Points, but when it closes, thousands of people who rely on the Five Points rail system will have to board trains at other nearby stations.
MARTA plans to temporarily reopen access to Five Points during the World Cup in 2026. Work is expected to be completed in 2028.
The proposed closures have sparked backlash from some businesses and community leaders, some of whom have called for MARTA to postpone the project until after the World Cup and maintain access to Five Points during the construction period.
Dickens raised another concern Thursday: Preliminary audit results he shared with Greenwood suggest MARTA owes at least $70 million to the Atlanta Expansion Fund, a program funded by a half-penny sales tax approved by Atlanta voters in 2016.
City council members requested the audit last year over concerns that MARTA spent far more on enhancing bus service than originally envisioned in the expansion plan. MARTA’s critics say the money can’t be used to build new transit lines. City council members also believe MARTA spent expansion funds on enhancing bus service that it didn’t actually deliver.
While the final audit results won’t be available until late July, Dickens told Greenwood on Thursday that the preliminary findings merit a pause on construction at Five Points until the issues are resolved. The mayor also suggested the city may have other priorities to discuss before moving forward with renovations at Five Points. The mayor recently announced plans to build four new transit stations along existing MARTA lines.
MARTA said in its response that it has “worked collaboratively with the administration to make this (Five Points) project a reality,” and that it has had multiple discussions with Dickens staff about the project’s design and the need for pedestrian closures during construction.
“In the 11 months since the City of Atlanta approved the current design, MARTA has rushed to begin construction,” Greenwood wrote.