MARTA Project Delivery Approach: A Summary of the Program Implementation Plan for MARTA System Expansion Projects

In 2013 the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) undertook a study to identify and evaluate alternative delivery methods to advance high-capacity transit expansion projects in the Interstate 20 (I-20) corridor, the Clifton corridor—a major job and activity center with no direct access to existing rail transit and the regional freeway system—and the GA 400 corridor. The study resulted in the identification of the preferred delivery method and implementation plan for each of these corridor projects. This paper details the consensus reached for the three MARTA projects selected for implementation, the sources of funding for the financial plan, and the preferred project delivery method. To accomplish this effort, five major tasks were undertaken which define the schedule, financial plan, and implementation method for the I-20 East Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) corridor, the Clifton corridor light rail transit (LRT), and the GA 400 HRT projects. Of the numerous project delivery methods obtained from prior research and case studies, Design-build-finance, maintain (DBFM) was deemed to be the most appropriate method for both I-20 East HRT and Georgia 400 HRT, and design-build-operate-finance-maintain (DBFOM) was deemed to be the most appropriate delivery method for Clifton corridor LRT.