Clifton Corridor
Legend
Lindbergh Center Red Gold Cheshire Bridge Sage Hill/Briarcliff CDC/Emory Conference Center Emory-Rollins Andrews Circle North Decatur/Clairmont Phase 1 Phase 2 Suburban Plaza DeKalb Medical Center Irvin Way DeKalb Farmers Market Avondale Blue Green

The Clifton Corridor is a proposed public transportation corridor in and near Atlanta, Georgia, roughly connecting the Buckhead, Emory University, and Decatur areas.

Proposed route[edit]

The proposed route stretches from:

• Lindbergh Center at the southern end of Buckhead
• Eastwards following the existing CSX rail corridor
• Stations near the CDC, Emory University and Veterans Administration campus
• Possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur via Suburban Plaza on N. Decatur Rd.
• Terminus at the Avondale MARTA station

MARTA selected light rail as the preferred mode for the corridor in 2012. Emory strongly supports rapid transit in the corridor.^[1]

History[edit]

A local rail service along the Clifton Corridor was envisioned as early as 1961, when the line was included on maps for a potential regional transportation system.^[2]

In March 2012, after considering bus, light rail and heavy rail rapid-transit options,^[3] MARTA recommended a light rail option.^[4] In Summer 2012, there was a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax (SPLOST) to fund traffic and road improvements. If approved, the tax would have provided $700 million to fund rapid transit along the Clifton Corridor.^[5] The measure was defeated by voters.

By the summer of 2018, MARTA updated the Clifton Corridor fact sheet with Alternative 6 shown as the selected routing split into two phases. At that time, MARTA estimated construction of first phase from Lindburgh to North Decatur / Clairmont to begin in 2022 and be complete and operational by 2026. The initial segment was estimated to cost between $900 million to $1.3 billion, with build-out of the full line running $1.8–2.1 billion.^{[6][non-primary source needed]}

However, as of January 2022 MARTA has not yet allocated funding for construction, which prevents the Federal Transit Administration from allocating matching funds.^[7][8] By February 2023, MARTA had eliminated the light rail option and was proceeding to plan a bus rapid transit line along the corridor.^[9]

Stations[edit]

MARTA proposes stations at:^[6]

• Lindbergh Center
• Cheshire Bridge Road (near Faulkner Road and the Morningside Nature Preserve
• Sage Hill / Briarcliff (near the intersection of Briarcliff Road, Johnson Road, and Zonolite Road)
• CDC/Emory Conference Center
• Emory-Rollins
• Andrews Circle
• North Decatur / Clairmont
• Suburban Plaza
• DeKalb Medical Center
• Irwin Way
• Your Dekalb Farmers Market
• Avondale MARTA station

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• MARTA overview