City of Atlanta crews hard at work finishing renovations before 2026 Men's World Cup begins

The first FIFA Men's World Cup match in Atlanta is just around the corner, and road work and MARTA renovations are still underway.

"They're constructing everything at one time, so it's like frustrating," said Atlanta local Tee Lindzee.

Lindzee wonders how Atlantans will get around with the more than 300,000 people expected to visit during the World Cup.

"When people come from the places, they're going to be confused because it's like a maze in there, and right here they're going to be like, 'This is Atlanta,'" said Lindzee.

Lenor Bromberg, Atlanta's Department of Transportation's deputy commissioner of engineering, says crews have been hard at work, especially near Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of the matches.

"Within that downtown area, we're really making sure the roads and sidewalks are in a great state for people to ride on and walk on has been our top priority," Bromberg said.

MARTA has to pass safety inspections on new train cars that were expected to launch before the World Cup. On Tuesday, the agency said testing has continued, but the railcars are not yet ready to carry passengers.. It's also replacing glass on their new fare gates, adding more secure 1/2-inch panels. It hasn't given a timeline for these projects, but ATLDOT is confident in its progress.

"In the downtown FIFA zone, which is what we call it, between Memorial and North Avenue and Northside Drive to the interstate, we expect those all to be finished this week, with any final touches that are left to be done, we can do next week," said Bromberg.

Charles, a lifelong Atlanta local, says he's seen the city pull this off before.

"Before the Olympics, they came in and tore a lot of stuff up, built a lot of stuff up,  and just re-renovated a lot of things down here," he said. "From the way it looks, they're getting there. More than likely, they'll be ready to go."

Lindzee says if any city can pull off a special event, even if things don't look ready, it's Atlanta.

"Best believe when it comes to those events, they don't play so next week it's gonna be like they was prepared for it forever," said Lindzee.

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