december 31, 1980 - marta rail history

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This 20 page report from MARTA's consultants provides historical background, maps, and photos of the early MARTA rail system.William D. McEwen was the original Director of Design and Engineering for the MARTA system (bus/rail). His initial registration was in California as a Civil and Structural engineer with subsequent registrations in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, the District of Columbia, and the Province of British Columbia. After retirement he became a consulting engineer and a Commercial Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.He also served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Gwinnett Advanced Water Reclamation Facility.

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Page 1: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Page 2: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit SystemA technological success story

System's efficiency. During its first week of opera-tions, MARTA put 457 trains on the line and all but onecompleted its run. The System racked up an on-timeperf ormance record of 94.6% the f irst week andboosted that achievement to g8% within two months.

The federal Department of Transportation is par-ticularly pleased with the successful operation of theMARTA System. The national program to reduce gas-oline consumption by commuters depends to a largeextent on the availability of good public transporta-tion systems. MARTA proves that transit engineers

, cah produce new systems which work efficiently anddependably.

The Atlanta rail system is the third in a series ofbrand-new heavy rail transit systems built in the U.S.in recent years. The San Francisco BART System wasopened f irst, then segments of the Washington, D.C.,Metro.

Many of the engineers on the MARTA project hadworked on one or both of these other systems, andthey brought that experience with them to Atlanta.

The result is a long stride forward in the tech-nology of high-speed rapid transit. Georgia Profes-sional Engineer magazine called the System "atechnological success story."

On-time performance best ref lects the MARTA

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Page 3: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

Nearly 100,000 people patronized MARTA's EastLine the first week of operations. They came to ridethe fast trains and survey the shiny, new stations.

In spite of years of newspaper, radio and televisionreporting, the Atlantans were surprised at the speedand quietness of the trains and the attractiveness ofthe passenger stations. They adopted the new MAR-TA rail system with obvious civic pride.

Sitting on wide, upholstered seats, old-timersrecalled the memories of riding trains; and youngsterssat entranced, gazing in awe as Atlanta f rom an entire-ly different viewpoint slid past the picture windows.The line f rom Avondale Station to downtown Atlantarises and descends in long grades, so the riders got amixture of surface, subway and elevated views.

Some patrons just wandered through the firstseven stations on the East Line admiring the designand finish materials. Everything was in place-Sys-tem maps on the walls, telephones, restrooms, plentyof signing and artwork. MARTA attendants stood bythe fare gates to demonstrate how they worked.

The System operated with hardly a hitch.Today, the West Line, from Five Points to High-

tower, joins the East Line in carrying close to 85,000revenue trips a day. When the entire rail system iscompleted, patronage will be approximately 370,000trips a day.

Opening Day

It was a shirtsleeves day, June 30, 1979. Under abright Georgia sun, 1,500 Atlantans gathered at theEast Lake Station to celebrate the opening of the f irstMARTA rail transit line. Wide strips of colorf u I bu nt-ing hung in gentle folds across the station ceiling.The band played, the politicians orated, and thelisteners applauded with genteel appreciation. Seven-teen years of effort had gone into planning and build-ing the MARTA System. Dozens of civic leaders hadnudged the project, a step at a time, toward thisfestive occasion. The speakers recalled their namesand pinned them with rhetorical medals.

Brock Adams, U.S. Secretary of Transportation,

"Let's go ridethe MARTA train"told the Atlantans, "This System represents the bestof what can be done between federal and localgovernments." That evening, thousands of Americanswatching their television sets at dinnertime wouldhear him proclaim: "This is not mass transportation;this is class transportation."

In the audience, d little girl in a Sunday smocktugged her father's beard and queried, "When are wegoing to ride the train?"

When the last speaker brought the audience to thelast round of applause, the crowd surged through thestation toward the shiny new train with the broadbands of MARTA yellow, orange and blue emblazonedacross the front.

"Now !"

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Page 4: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

Vehicle

Train Control System

Electric Power System

Fare Collection System

Transit Lines

Passenger Stations

Trackwork

Yards and Shops

Communications Systems

Right ol Way

Relocation of Railroads

Relocation of Utilities

Construction Contracts

Procurement Contracts

The last 60 months . . .

80 cars manufactured, tested and delivered.

Central control complex completed. Wayside system installedon East and West lines.

Substations constructed at 19 locations and third rail installedon East and West lines.

Design and installation of equipment completed along East andWest lines.

Construction completed on 11.8 miles and unden^ray on 4.4miles.

Construction completed on 12 and under way on 6 more.

Trackbed, ties, and rail installation completed on 11.8 miles.

Main yard and shops completed at Avondale.

Manufactured, installed and tested on East and West lines.

1,129 parcels acquired.

Completed along East and West lines.

Completed along East-West and initial North-South line.

59 contracts completed or under way.

36 contracts completed or under way.

Proj ect status. as of December 31,1980Although most of MARTA's East and West

lines are complete and in revenue service, the53-mile network is only 24% complete. Theconstruction workload under Phase A is $550million. lt will be $806 million under Phases Band C. Design work volume was $177 millionunder Phase A. Phases B and C will require$123 million. Construction management costswill total $18 million under Phase A. Phases B

and C will require $48 million.The System will require acquisition of a

total 2,500 parcels of land. At the peak of con-struction on Phase A, more than 2,400 workerswere employed on-site, with an estimated10,000 off-site involved in production of ma-terials and equipment. More than 3,500 pro-fessional engineers have been, or will be, in-volved In development of the System.

Page 5: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

and the next 60

It takes 17 years to complete a new transit sys-tem-make feasibility studies, pass legislation, raisemoney, develop conceptual plans, design equipmentand lines and stations, and construct.

Between the awarding of MARTA's f irst construc-tion contract and completion of the last lie 10 years ofhard work.

Because it is dependent upon available federalfunding, the project is being built in phases.

The open ing of the East and West Lines com-pleted much of Phase A. At one time, the agency hadover $600 million worth of contracts in force for con-struction and equipment. Phase A, when complete,will have cost more than $1 billion.

Phase A consists of 13.7 miles of lines and 17 sta-tions, includ ing 1 1 .8 m iles and 1 3 stations on the Eastand West Lines. Phases B and C will consist of an ad-ditional 21.5 miles of lines and 13 stations on theNorth and South Lines.

Phase A saw much of the system-wide design taskcompleted. Engineers finished drafting of criteria foroperating equipment, design of the train, design ofthe automatic train-control system, design of the trac-tion power system, design of the fare system, anddesign of the communications systems.

Most of the equipment contracts for Phases B andC will be for purchase and installation of equipmentsimilar to that tested and proven in Phase A.

However, the dollars involved in construction ofPhase B and C lines and stations will exceed thosespent on Phase A. Under the schedule for B and C,MARTA will spend $1.6 billion in the next five years.Construction expenditures will reach a peak of $30million a month, nearly twice as high as the peak of$16.6 million a month during Phase A. This assumesthe receipt of federal aid at a sustained rate.

Engineers will have to scramble to complete anestimated 39 major construction contracts and bringthem to the bidding stage between 1981 and 1984.

The design effort will peak at a higher level, also.Phase A engineering costs hit $2.4 million a month in1975. lf federal aid materializes at a planned level,engineering effort will be boosted to a high of $4m il lion a month in 1981 and 1982.

ln short, all the big numbers in Phase A are evenbigger in Phases B and C. That means more employ-ment for local workers, more materials for local pro-ducers, and heavier responsibilities for the MARTAand the PB/T engineering management team.

Checking over new vehicle inMARTA's Avondale Service Shop.Trains undergo extensive testingprior to being put into revenueservice.

Left: Construction on the MARTASyslem could be accelerated to apeak of $30 million a month, com-pared with a peak of $16.6 millionunder Phase A.

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Page 6: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History
Page 7: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

Building the North and South LinesMARTA's nine-mile-long South line will carry

patrons to and from Atlanta's new airport. From FivePoints Station in the heart of Atlanta to Airport Sta-tion, it will provide seven passenger stations.

The line emerges from subway just south of FivePoints and mounts 2.5 miles of 3O-foot-high aerialstructure to clear urban arterials and cross InterstateHighway 20. Construction of MARTA's Airport Stationwas scheduled to coincide with the construction ofAtlanta's new airport terminal.

The North Line will be 14.4 miles long, from FivePoints Station to Doraville. Patrons will board thesystem through 10 stations.

The line runs in subway from Five Points toBrookwood, then goes onto aerial structure and atgrade.

The largest station on the North Line is PeachtreeCenter, which serves Atlanta's retail and off ice centerand a number of new skyscraper hotels. An estimated34,000 patrons a day will be using this station by 1990,doubling to 70,000 a day by Year 2000. The PeachtreeCenter Station is under construction now and isscheduled for completion in late 1982. The cavern forthe big subway station has been carved out of nearlysolid granite. lt measures 700 feet long by 60 feetwide, and is as high as a four-story building.

MARTA is providing long-term employment forthousands of construction workers. lt will beanother f ive years before the North and SouthLines are complete.

The southward lines out of Peachtree Center weretunneled, first through rock, then through mixed ma-terials. As construction moved into softer ground,with the.possibility of water intrusion and ground set-tlement, excavation required compressed-air tun-neling techniques.

Construction on South Line is typical of the work under way.

Excavation of solid rock for Peachtree Center Station is largelycomplete. MARTA has awarded a $21-million contract for f inishconstruction of the station.

Page 8: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

MARTA trains:70 miles per hour

Specif ications:Length of A and B cars: 75 ft. . Width of body: 10 ft.6 in.. Height: 11 ft.6 in..Emp-

ty weight: 76,000 lbs.. Seating capacity: 68.. Exterior: Extruded aluminum, w€lded,with brushed f inish . . Propulsion: Electrical, nominal 750 VDC, third rail distribution..Maximum acceleration rate: 3 mphps.. Maximum speed: 70 mph.. Braking systems:Electric dynamic supplemented with blended friction brakes of air over hydraulictype.. Suspension system: Cast steel articulated truck. Air suspension with auto-matic load levelling.. Ride quality: At 4.0 Hz frequency, acceleration is 0.02 g on alateral scale and 0.025 g on a vertical scale. At 30 Hz f requency, acceleration is 0.08 gon a lateral scale, and 0.10 g on a vertical scale. . Interior noise level: At 30 mph onstandard track, maximum of 67 dBA.. Wayside noise level:80.5 dBA 50 ft. from track. . Carpeting: 100o/o yirgin wool,4-ply, with cushioning foam and anti-static wires.

Page 9: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

New transit technology has concentrated heavilyupon development of better vehicles-trains which willoperate more dependably, accelerate more smoothly,travel more quietly, provide more comfortable seating,and offer greater savings in maintenance and in energyconsumption.

MARTA and PB/T engineers, many of whom havedesigned other transit systems, brought their experienceto the development of the MARTA vehicle.

MARTA trains consist of two to eight individuallypowered cars. They will accelerate at an initial rate of 3miles per hour per second and reach a top speed of 70miles per hour,

Each car can carry 68 seated passengers and 82standees. The exterior is brushed aluminum. The interioris attractively f urnished with upholstered seats, carpetedf loors, pleasant lighting, and colorf ul dt!cor.

Vehicles are powered by four electric motors drawingpower from 750-volt direct current wayside contact rails.They employ both dynamic and friction braking systemsand an "air bag" suspension system.

PB/T engineers gave considerable attention to noiseand vibration control, not only to provide a quieter ride forpatrons in the car, but also to reduce impact on the adja-cent environment. That task began with the track system,but much of the effort was concentrated in car design. Asa result the MARTA train is probably one of the quietest inoperation.

The vehicles are being manufactured in France bySoci6t6 Franco-Belge, a major builder of cars for Euro-pean rail and transit systems. The first 120 cars are beingobtained under a contract for $80 million. Eighty vehicleshave been delivered to date.

Two of the cars have been operating at the Depart-ment of Transportation test track in Pueblo, Colorado.There, engineers have been subjecting the new design toextensive testing. The findings will benefit MARTA andother rail transit systems around the U.S.

lnterior of MARTA train leatures comfortable seating, evenlighting, and attractive deicor.

Equal employment programscores high

During the height of the Phase A designand construction program, Parsons Brincker-hoff/Tudor built its staff to over 600 men andwomen. Employees now number 422, ofwhom 38 percent are minorities and 23 aref em ale.

o ln the professional ranks, 23oh are mi.norities and 6"h are female.

o In the technician ranks, 49% are minor-ities and 18"/" are female.

o In the clerical ranks, 827" are minori-ties and 89% are female.

What makes them particularly impressiveis the fact that rapid transit design is highlyspecialized and the labor pool of availabletalent is small. That PB/T has been able tobring so many minorities onto the job is testi-mony to an aggressive EEO program.

MARTA Engineering WinsTop Design Awards

The National Society of Prof essionalEngineers recently recognized the Atlantatransit project as one of the nation's "Out-standing Engineering Achievements." Theaward was announced at the society's annualconvention in Detroit.

The award was presented to the MARTAand PB/T engineering organizations by Gov-ernor George Busbee in a local ceremonysponsored by the Georgia Society of Profes-sional Engineers. Governor Busbee said,"We are proud of MARTA and the engineer-ing accomplishment it represents."

Earlier this year, the Consulting Engi-neers Council of Georgia also named theMARTA System for its annual "EngineeringExcellence Award." The award was based oninnovations in engineering, plus recognitionfor the massive design program involved.

Page 10: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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It would take dozens of transit security off icers topatrol MARTA's passenger stations. Much of this taskis being eff iciently carried out by a closed-circuit TVsystem. Some 160 cameras in strategic locationsthroughout stations provide continuous surveillance.

In communications zone centers for each of thefour lines, supervisors can watch the ebb and flow ofpatrons and detect problems as soon as they occur, orbefore.

Patrons have become used to hearing a courteousbut authoritative voice boom out of the public addresssystem: "Will the little boy in the white t-shirt withDarth Vader on the front please step back from theedge of the platform . . Thank you."

Survei I lance system protects patronsThe television surveillance system is only one of

ten separate communications systems designed forMARTA under criteria developed by PB/T. Others in-clude: 1) a system to carry a continuous f low of trainmovement data to the central control complex, 2) asystem to monitor all of the electrical devices on thetransit system, including ventilation fans, 3) a systemto report f ires and illegal intrusions,4)three telephonesystems to handle emergencies, maintenance opera-tions, and administration, and 5) three radio systemsto connect trains with central control, to serve secu-rity forces, and to serve yard personnel in assemblingtrains.

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Page 11: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Special fare gates make it easier for handicappedpatrons to use the new transit system.

Flexible fare system

MARTA'S fare-collection system is in-tended to permit thousands of patrons tomove rapidly through the station and ontotrains. Strategic placement of fare gateswas one consideration. Design of equip-ment wh ich wou ld accept f ares rapid lywas another.

MARTA's gates will accept coins and avariety of magnetically-encoded tickets.The agency is selling cards for commutersand half-fare passes for senior citizens.The weekly and monthly commuter passesare good for an unlimited number of rideson both trains and buses.

The agency has installed extra-widefare gates for wheelchair access in all sta-tions.

PB/T with its consultants drafted thecriteria for MARTA's fare-collection sys-tem, wrote the specifications, and super-vised testing and installation.

AutomaticTrain Controls

The MARTA train control system utilizes railroadsignalling principles and computer-aided informationprocessing to provide Line Supervision (LS), AutomaticTrain Protection (ATP), and Automatic Train Operation(ATO). MARTA and PB/T engineers established early thatprotected operation in the event of equipment failureswas essential, with back-up modes of manual operation.

Line Supervision (LS) includes the display board, TV-tube annunciators, keyboards, and computers at CentralControl, and associated equipment in each station and oncars. Central handles monitoring, fine tuning and systemabnormalities. Monitoring data transmitted from the field,the equipment displays information on the display boardand annunciators. Operators can command the fieldequipment to exercise LS functions if local control fails.However, train movement does not depend on Central;the system can operate when Central cannot communi-cate with the field.

LS equipment on cars transmits destination data andoperating indications to equipment in station train con-trol rooms to control routes and operate dwell signals instations. Should the car-carried or local LS routing func-tions fail, Central is alarmed (and can request a route),and station route-selection equipment changes the routeto continue operations. The train operator can also in-itiate a route using wayside push buttons. As a f inal back-up, local functions can be controlled from Local ManualControl Panels located in each station.

Train-separation functions are controlled by equip-ment in stations and on board cars. ATP can override theLS and ATO equipment. Wayside ATP circuits, utilizingaudio frequency signalling and hardwired relay logic,detect trains, select and transmit speed commands, andset and check routes. ATP equipment on cars decodesspeed commands, verif ies that train speed is below com-manded speed, and if not, commands a brake application.ATP functions are designed to fail safe and cannot be cir-cumvented. However, in emergencies trains can bemoved in a non-protected, low-speed mode.

ATO functions are performed in the car-carried equip-ment. ATO circuits accelerate the train to running speed,regulate it and stop the train at the correct location at thestation platform. lf ATO fails, the operator can operate atfull speed in an ATP-protected mode using the "cabsignal" back-up; a dual speedometer shows the actualtrain speed and that commanded by the ATP track cir-cuits. Actual speed is kept below commanded speed us-ing a console-mounted power-braking control handle.

Page 12: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Passenger stations: Versati I ityAtlantans are seeing some good examples of architec-

tural quality in the first 13 stations completed along theEast and West Lines. Designers have come up with dramat-ic structural concepts and finished them in a variety of tex-tures and colors.

In many locations the MARTA station is the hand-somest structure in the neighborhood.

The general engineering consultant was responsiblefor the conceptual design of stations. This preliminarywork included locating the station in the most strategicspot, determining the potential patronage and plotting theanticipated traffic flow through the facility, developing thef unctional arrangement of all levels, estimating the numberof ticketing machines and gates needed, and planning thestation site for interface with other transportation modes.

The 28 individual architect-engineer teams retained by

Omnl Station at dusk.

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Page 13: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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fr ffir{:ffi$PB/T developed actual plans for the structure, includingtheir own structural concept, design of electrical-mechan-ical systems, lighting, architectural style, choice of ex-terior and interior materials, color treatments and graphics.

Two of the most dramatic stations now under construc-tion are Five Points and Civic Center. Five Points is amassive facility, described on Page 14. The rail linethrough Civic Center Station comes from underground tocross a six-lane interstate highway and goes immediatelyback into subway. The span incorporates some uniquestructural engineering.

Each MARTA station was planned to fit into the sur-rounding environment and zoning is being implemented toproduce new development around many of the stations. Thefederal Urban Mass Transportation Administration hasgiven a large sum for the long-range plans of that nature.

Train coming into MARTA's colorful Decatur Station.

Entrance to Decatur Station.

Patrons getting acquainted with fare gates.

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Omni Station concoursethe rush-hour crowds.

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Page 14: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Five Points Station: Hub of the systemThe hub of the MARTA System is Five Points

Station, a mammoth structure covering 3t/z acresin the center of Atlanta. Most of the station willbe underground (three levels) with a street-levelplaza. The East-West Line crosses over theNorth-South Line here, on the second and thirdsubsurface levels.

Nearly 300,000 patrons will move through theterminal each day when the MARTA System iscompleted. Five Points' distinguishing architec-tural feature is a massive roof structure. lt incor-porates nine longitudinal beams 262 teet longand 11 transverse beams 167 feet long. In crosssection, the beams measure 10 feet 8 inchesdeep and 2 feet 6 inches wide. Each is composedof 13-foot precast concrete segments, post-ten-sioned together. After the segments wereerected, heavy steel strands were threadedthrough ducts formed in the segments. Then thestrands were stretched taut with powerf ul

hydraulic jacks, converting the segments into aconcrete beam.

The roof structure utilizes approximately2,000 precast units and weighs almost 8,000tons. The precast segments weigh up to 23 tonseach.

Five Points Station has been 43 monthsunder way now. The work is being done by Slat-tery Associates under a $41 million contract.Trains on the East-West Line are running throughthe second subway level below the street, butthe entire project will not be completed untilm id-1 981 .

The architect was Finch-Heery of Atlanta.Structural engineering was accomplished byPB/T and Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Doug-las, lnc. PB/T provided construction manage-ment services. Precasting of the beams was bySoutheast Schokbeton.

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Page 15: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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16.3 miles of aerial structureOf its total of 53 miles of rail lines, MARTA is put-

ting 16.3 miles on aerial structure. Elevating the railsystem in this way not only permits trains to operateat high speeds, but also allows ground-level traffic toflow without interruption.

Tudor Engineering Company designed the elevat-ed structure, drawing on experience gained in thedesign of similar structures for other large transitsystems.

Because the aerial structure is visually prominent,

Aerial line designed to follow railroad reduces right of way requirements.

MARTA has given high priority to esthetics. Basicallythe structure consists of prestressed concrete deckslabs carried on steel or concrete box girders, sup-ported by rectangular reinforced concrete columns.The designers produced a computer program whichtook alignment geometry, column locations, founda-tion conditions, and other data and produced the in-formation needed for construction of the individualline segments.

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PR ECAST PRESTRESSEDCONCRETE SLAB

CAST PRESTRESSEDCONCRETE OR STEELBOX GIROER

CAST IN PLACECONCRETE PIER

Right: Cross section of typical aerial structure.

Page 16: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Walter S. Douglas: 22 yearson the MARTA project

Sitting quietly in the,audience, withhis wife beside him and basking in thewarm exuberance of the Opening Daythrong was a 68-year-old engineer whoprobably knew more about rapid transitdesign than anyone else in the crowd.

He could have told a lot about howthe MARTA System was first plannedand how it compares with other high-technology systems in England,Sweden, Germany, and Japan. He couldhave predicted how it will modify,gradually but surely, the urban structureof the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Walter S. Douglas, former Chairman(Continued on Page 19)

John E. Everson, former Chairman ofthe Board, Parsons BrinckerholfQuade & Douglas, Inc.

John E. Everson: 200 tripsthrough the Atlanta airport

John E. Everson, who succeededDouglas as Chairman of the Board ofParsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas,Inc., has been his company's most fre-quent commuter to the MARTA project.He has hauled the two-ton briefcase hefancies through the Atlanta airport ter-minal 200 times, coming and going.

As Parsons Brinckerhof f 's repre-sentative on the Board of Consultants,Everson has participated in or chairednearly 250 all-day meetings, listened to2,000 staff reports on problems andprogress, and helped the joint venture

'-W$*fi th* r*e$ tur3r. fugtAffiTAFinding a single person who deserves the most credit for carry-

ing the MARTA project to the successful completion of its firsttwo lines is an impossible exercise, frustrated by the parade ofnames and faces that come to mind.

Alan Kiepper will go down in the history books as the man whomade it happen. And MARTA's veteran general manager is virtuallysurrounded by a succession of Board members who made theright decisions at the right times, by civic leaders and localbusinessmen who supported the project for years, by men in theState Legislature and in Washington, D.C., who came forward withsupport and federal aid when needed.

"All of the above-mentioned" are responsible for the MARTASystem as a social, political, and economic creation of signifi-cance far beyond considerations of steel and concrete. However,we would like to commend the host of engineers whose coming towork early and leaving late, whose exercise of professional talent,and whose successful solution of tremendously complex prob-

Henry L. Michel, President, ParsonsBrinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.

Winfield O. Salter, Senior VicePresident, Parsons BrinckerhoffQuade & Douglas, Inc.

Louis W. Riggs, President,Tudor Engineering Company

Stanley H. Froid, Senior VicePresident, Tudor EngineeringCompany

(Continued on Page 19)

Page 17: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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please $tep forwffitrd"lems has kept the project on schedule and within costestimates, and has much to do with the happyfact that the trains run on time.

In terms of mileage, the MARTA System is only 24%complete. For another 41 miles and 28 passenger sta-tions, another f ive years of high-technology engineering,another 250 weeks of problems now unforeseeable, andanother $1 billion of construction, the MARTA projectwill be in the hands of-the "technicians."

We hope that these men and women, whose con-tinued dedication we still need, will see between thelines of this 20-page report some of what they have con-tributed to the newest and best of America's rapid-transit systems.

-James L. Lammie, Project DirectorParsons Brinckerhof f /Tudor

General Engineering Consultants

Top engineers on the MARTA project: James L. Lammie (left),Projecl Director for Parsons Brinckerhoffffudor. L. DennisBallou (right), MARTA's Assistant General Manager for TransitSystem Development.

The proiect management teamBuilding a transit system takes more than design

technology. When completed, the MARTA Systemwill have cost more than $3 billion over a 17-yearperiod. The men who run that kind of a project haveto know a good deal about money management, timemanagement, and people management.

This is a responsibility which MARTA's engineer-ing staff and the general engineering consultantshare.

Under the direction of the Assistant GeneralManager for Transit System Development, MARTA'sstaff of 120 engineers helps the agency reach soundtop-level policy decisions, keeps a handle on f inanc-ing needs, sets the deadlines, and administers thecontracts.

This staff is deeply involved in steering the proj-ect through numerous local government jurisdic-tions, strengthening communications with the com-munities along the rail lines, and maintaining rela-tionships with the state legislature and the federalUrban Mass Transportation Administration.

The general engineering consultant's responsi-bilities are in the day-to-day management of thedesign and construction programs. MARTA expectsPB/T to maintain a highly f lexible organization, modi-fying it to respond to the varying needs of the projectas it moves through conceptual planning, design,and construction.

By such means, MARTA enjoys the best of twoworlds-the flexibility of a private engineeringorganization and the continuity of a governmentagency.

Cost of Delays-$12.8 million a month

The pressure on engineering management tocomplete a large project is tremendous. Every day ofdelay costs the agency thousands of dollars in in-flated cost. Engineers have estimated that, in MAR-TA's case, a delay of a month in the opening of theNorth and South Lines would mean an added infla-tion cost of $12.8 million.

Keeping the job on schedule, working around un-foreseen problems, solving dilemmas as they occur,is one of the most important tasks facing the projectmanagers.

Page 18: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History

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Federal aid f or mass transit is f inancing most ofthe MARTA System. This is part of the nationaleffort to reduce gasoline consumption.

Georgia State Capitol provides appropriatebackground for MARTA train.

The 4:01 f lightto Atlanta:

The MARTA System is the f irst transit system tobe built in the Southeastern United States. A streamof transportation planners and engineers flows intoAtlanta these days, to supply expertise where neededand to carry the highly technical project over therough spots.

MARTA leans on PB/T, its general engineeringconsultant, to tap this expertise and keep the projectmoving along on time. The general engineering con-sultant has brought in 28 teams (representing 85 in-dividual architectural and engineering f irms) fordesign of lines and stations, and has thus far retained

Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade &Douglas: New York City

The prestige which Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade& Douglas, Inc., enjoys in transit engineering wasdemonstrated last year when New York City cele-brated the 75th anniversary of the opening of itsfirst subway line.

Henry Michel, Presrdent and Chief OperatingOf f icer of Parsons Brinckerhof f . sat on the plat-form with the nrayor of the largest city in the worldand the governor of the State of New York. Bothof those dignitaries praised the f irm for its role increating the first major transit line in United Stateshistory: and at an appropriate place in the ceremo-nies,they presented Michel with a plaque commem-orating the 1904 subway inauguration.

The New York City subway was engineered byGeneral William Barclay Parsons, the founder ofParsons Brinckerhoff . Since then the company hasdesigned more than 2,000 bridges. over 4,000 milesof highways, and hundreds of massive public worksprojects here and abroad. Last year, the firm com-pleted site designs f or the f ederal government's$2 billion program for storing petroleum in vastunderground caverns.

The MARTA job is one of Parsons Brinckerhoff'smost challenging assignments in recent years. Butovercoming challenge comes naturally to the firm'scorps of designers and construction managers. Sev-enty-five years from now, there will probably be aParsons Brinckerhoff president in Atlanta to hear amayor and a state governor say kind things aboutthe engineering profession. Between now and then,the company will probably design or help designanother 10 transit systems in another 10 cities.

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Engineering in Depthmore than 100 other firms or individual consultantsfor specialized engineering tasks such as surveyingand mapping, soils exploration, tunneling studies,and acoustic studies.

However, MARTA's major resource for projectdesign and construction management is the twocompanies serving in joint venture as the agency'sgeneral engineering consultant. Together, these twoorganizations, with corporate headquarters in NewYork City and San Francisco, provide design andmanagement capabilities developed over a longperiod of time and a number of large projects.

Tudor EngineeringCompany: San Francisco

Tudor Engineering Company has brought to theMARTA System 22 years of experience on otherlarge transit projects. The compdny, in joint venturewith the Bechtel Corporation and Parsons Brincker-hoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., helped to manage de-sign and construction of the San Francisco BARTSystem, to launch the Caracas, Venezuela, MetroSystem and to design elements of the Sao PauloSystem.

The company is well known for its transporta-tion studies and its design of dams, tunnels, hydro-electric works, bridges, and highways.

Tudor has designed the aerial line structure forthree of the new transit systems in the U.S.-theSan Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System, theMARTA System, and the Metropolitan Dade CountyRapid Transit System. The federal Water and PowerResources Service recently picked Tudor to inventoryall of the potential sites in 17 western states wheresmall-scale hydroelectric plants might be con-structed.

For many of these projects, Tudor has won stateand national awards.

The company was established by Ralph A.Tudor,the California state engineer who designed the six-mile San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The presi-dent of the firm for the last 17 years, Louis W. Riggs,has represented Tudor Engineering on all of its trans-it project control boards. Riggs is vice president ofthe American Consulting Engineers Council. Thatnational organization represents 3,700 private engi-neering firms, covering the whole spectrum of en-gineering disciplines.

Douglas (Continued)of the Board of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Doug-las, f nc., headed the first study, in 1957, which devel-oped the concept of the MARTA System. He was in-volved in the project tor 22 years.

A succession of other engineers drifted up toDouglas to shake hands and say something com-plimentary about another big job done well. Many hadworked on transit projects in South America, air f ieldsin the Far East, bridges in Europe, and tunnels inCanada. They had come to Atlanta to ramrod a chunkof the MARTA construction. Some had been here for10 years and some would complete their professionalcareers on this project. They had come downtown toride the trains, along with everybody else, on OpeningDay.

On the platform, some of the politicians who hadstuck their necks out for MARTA when it wasn't a surething and had maneuvered it through some roughwaters, sat through the ceremony with uncertainsmiles on their faces. They hoped that the lights thatblink and the wheels that turn would somehow all dowhat they were supposed to do.

Walter Douglas, sitting quietly in the audience,was as relaxed as a Cheshire cat at the fireplace.

He knew it would work.

Everson (Continued)and the Authority reach probably 20,000 decisionsaffecting the quality or cost of the project.

When he was not involved in a top engineeringmanagement problem for MARTA, Everson was log-ging nearly a million miles of travel between his off iceand other Parsons Brinckerhoff assignments in theU.S., South America, and the Far East. But the MARTAproject has been a part of Everson's professional lifefor many years. He represents the large corps ofengineers and project managers whose names havenever been in the newspapers but whose good judg-ment keeps the project on line and grade.

martaat work

East Line Construction Underway

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A symbol of progress on 30 diflerent locations.

Page 20: December 31, 1980 - MARTA Rail History