Atlanta Streetcar isn't expected to open to riders on the city's latest targeted launch date of Dec. 6. The date was selected after the downtown streetcar project missed other targeted start dates.
Mostly recently, the city missed a planned mid-November launch due to safety concerns by the Federal Transit Administration. In early November, the Federal Transit Administration flagged "outstanding safety and hazard mitigation issues," WABE reported.
The FTA has not yet signed off on passenger service, which means Atlanta Streetcar will not, as city officials had hoped, be available to visitors to Atlanta during the SEC Football Championship Game on Saturday, WSB-TV reported early Thursday. City officials are still hopeful the streetcar will open by the end of the year, the station said.
In addition to being delayed, the project is over budget. The City of Atlanta said in January of 2012 the total cost of the East-West route of the Atlanta Streetcar was $69.2 million. In July of 2014, Streetcar spokeswoman Sharon Gavin said costs were "hovering around $100 million," WABE reported. City officials said in July that construction issues dogged the project and raised its price.
Mayor Kasim Reed told the FTA in mid-November that safety issues the agency had flagged had been addressed and that the system was ready for passengers. The FTA responded it still had concerns.
Atlanta Streetcar was involved in a crash with a car on Nov. 23, marking the second accident for the system during its testing phase. A car tried to pass the streetcar during a test run near Centennial Olympic Park. A week earlier a car hit the streetcar on Ellis Street.
The Atlanta Streetcar will operate on a 2.7 mile loop with 12 stops. The route stretches from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Site. The east-west route represents Phase One for the Atlanta Streetcar project. Additional routes and phases are in design and planning stages, according to the Atlanta Streetcar website.