This article was written by Josh Green for Urbanize Atlanta.
MARTA is ramping up renovation work at one of its busiest transit hubs with designs that will mimic terminal canopies at the world’s largest airport next door—but not before a growing-pains phase of closures and rerouted riders.
MARTA officials have provided Urbanize Atlanta with renderings that vividly depict what’s in store for the agency’s Airport station. The southernmost stop on MARTA’s Red and Gold lines will lend a first impression for legions of World Cup fans arriving in the city for eight matches scheduled in summer 2026.
According to MARTA, the $55 million canopy installation and other renovations will boost “the safety and appearance of the rail station to best serve travelers and employees” coming to and leaving the airport.
But first comes a six-week closure of the Airport station that’s expected to last between Monday, April 8 and Sunday, May 19, as platform and concourse levels are renovated. The station closure is necessary, according to MARTA, to protect customers and workers, and it will allow renovations to be finished at the station 17 months quicker.
Rehabilitation work began at Airport station in June 2022. The next phase will entail replacing floor tiles on platform and canopy levels and preparing the station for its new canopy structure.
Additional upgrades in the offing include a new RideStore, a rehab of the station’s elevator, ceiling and lighting replacements, a public art installation, renovated employee spaces, and replacement of all signage.
To finish the project, MARTA says the station will also be closed nightly for 10 months sometime in 2025.
Another six-week closure is also possible after that, when the new canopy structure will be installed at the end of the construction process, per MARTA.