DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — As over a million people descended on Atlanta Saturday night ahead of the Super Bowl, the transportation agency faced a few hurdles.
By 9 p.m., every MARTA parking lot was full save a handful. MARTA sent out a statement encouraging people to consider carpooling or using ride share services to access rail stations.
Heavy pedestrian and car traffic downtown also forced MARTA to temporarily shut down the Atlanta Street Car.
In DeKalb County, brush fires near the MARTA rail line in Brookhaven forced officials to set up a bus bridge between several stations Saturday night.
Rail service was shut down at Lenox Station, and a bus bridge was set up to take riders to the Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville stations.
Officials said Saturday that the fires were not on MARTA property, but that flames and smoke were wafting over the tracks.
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Service has since resumed at Lenox, Brookhaven, Chamblee and Doraville but delays continued in both directions.
The issue comes on the night before Super Bowl 53, when hundreds of thousands of riders are expected to take the trains downtown to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
MARTA also reported that several parking lots were full by Saturday evening.