Ahead Of Super Bowl, MARTA Police Hold Emergency Preparedness Exercise
The MARTA Station at the Georgia World Congress Center will be closed to the public for part of this weekend. It’s for a large scale emergency preparedness exercise.
Credit / MARTAGUIDE.COM
In preparation for next year’s Super Bowl at the Mercedes Benz Stadium, MARTA police will take part in what they’re calling the “region’s largest emergency preparedness exercise” this weekend.
Major Aston Greene, who’s leading the exercise, said it’s going to be an extensive drill.
“That involves large crowds,” he stated. “That involves anything from large protests to any other sort of Homeland Security concern, especially what you see happening in the news today.”
Actors will be a major part of the exercise to allow first responders to feel like they’re in a realistic setting.
There will also be smoke, loud noise, and explosions around the MARTA Dome station at the stadium late Saturday night into early Sunday morning.
Greene said federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are preparing for any potential threats. The FBI, TSA, and Atlanta Police will also be involved.
“How to defeat and respond to improvised explosive devices, dealing with multiple injuries, dealing with coordinated style attacks, active shooter scenarios, dealing with chemical, biological, radiological type scenarios,” he added.
The exercise will run from 10 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday.
Starting at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, the MARTA Station at the Georgia World Congress Center will be closed to the public.
Officials say some rail services will also be interrupted.
The following roads will be closed during the exercise from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.:
- State Farm Drive (formerly Philips Dr.) and parking lot. Road closure begins at 11:00 p.m.
- Andrew Young International Blvd. Lane closures begin at 10:00 p.m.
- Portion of curbside lane out-front of State Farm Arena on Centennial Olympic Park Dr. begins at 10:00 p.m.
For more information, visit MARTA’s website.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.
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