Cobb County Agrees To Join $16M I-285 Bus Rapid Transit Plan

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County has signed onto a $16.2 million joint study to craft a public transit plan for the northern half of Interstate 285 — joining the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority.

Last week, Cobb commissioners unanimously approved an agreement to begin conceptual engineering and design work on the project, which is part of a much larger one to built toll express lanes across the northern half of the Perimeter loop.

The transit route would stretch from H.E. Holmes Transit Station on the west side to Indian Creek Transit Station in Stone Mountain to the east, crossing three county lines and connecting to the transit network of a fourth county, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"This is a significant opportunity for our region," Cupid said before the commissioners' unanimous vote to help fund the study.

The Georgia Department of Transportation estimated the portion on I-285's northeast side to be complete in 2029, the agency said in March, with the northwest portion expected to be complete in 2032. Preliminary estimates for the cost of stations, operations and maintenance are close to $1 billion over 20 years, according to the AJC.

The initial transit study would cost up to $16.2 million, with MARTA providing $14.3 million for the study using existing sales tax revenue and American Rescue Plan money, according to the county's memorandum of understanding.

The ATL is set to contribute $1.1 million, while Cobb will contribute $546,888 from Cobb's $10.9 million share of transit-specific federal COVID-19 relief money, the Marietta Daily Journal reported. Gwinnett County would contribute $214,000, though Gwinnett's approval is still needed.

Even with the regional agreement to fund the study, the bus rapid transit plan isn't official. Local taxpayers may have to chip in for the project, which would have to come before voters in a referendum before approval — and in the past, Cobb and Gwinnett voters haven't been supportive of joining MARTA, according to the AJC.