Georgia Is Moving With New Funding Dollars
This week’s Courier Herald column:
Government is a strange vehicle from which we translate the fickle desires and demands of short-term public opinion and translate them into the long-term infrastructure and institutions that will serve the next generation. Those who hope to be in politics or government for the long term need to have one foot squarely planted where the public wants them to be today, and the other stretched toward where the people will need them to be tomorrow.
Georgia remained stuck in between short-term politics and long-term transportation needs for over a decade before comprehensively addressing the problem last year. The fourth fastest growing state in the country had fallen to last in highway spending per capita.
Leaders decided to focus on a broad statewide funding plan and leave the specifics on exactly how and where the money would be spent to the GDOT board. After much public debate, the bill that passed the legislature ultimately had enough bipartisan support that it could have qualified to be a constitutional amendment.
No policy victory is complete, however, until those that voted for it stand for re-election. Thus far, the roughly $6 extra per month that Georgians are paying in excise taxes have been offset by the $95 per month they’re saving due to the falling price of oil. It’s OK for politicians to be lucky in the process of trying to be good from time to time.
But rather than quietly hoping that the public has moved on, Georgia’s leaders including the Governor, members of the Legislature’s Transportation Committees, and Board members and staff from the Georgia Department of Transportation remain on offense. They want Georgians to know what is being done with the new funds that are available to meet the state’s transportation needs.
A Capitol press conference hours after the annual Eggs & Issues breakfast highlighted several key initiatives and long term plans for GDOT’s new revenue stream. Chief among them is a website, GARoads.org. The website is to serve to increase transparency and speed information of what’s going on. Visitors can search upcoming projects in their area and see how and where their tax dollars are being spent.
Georgians should note that funds exclusive of interstates and freight corridors are subject to “congressional balancing”. This means that each congressional district gets the same amount of money, distributing Georgia’s transportation dollars by geography and population. This includes the regions that have already passed T-SPLOST referendums.
A year of study leading up to the bill revealed that it will take 20 years of significant investment to get Georgia’s bridges and roads back into a normal maintenance schedule. Repaving projects will get about four times the money than they received last year, while investments in bridge repair and replacement projects will roughly double.
Overall, more than a half billion dollars per year of sustained investment in maintenance will take care of the roads and bridges we already have. The Governor has also recommended that the state contribute an additional $100 Million above the funds raised by HB 170 via this year’s budgeted bond package.
There will also be added money for new projects. Metro Atlanta is projected to see over $10 Billion in new projects to increase mobility over the next decade. Meanwhile, areas outside metro area will receive emphasis on freight corridors in all corners of the state The goal is to disburse the freight headed to and from the Port of Savannah – and the related economic development opportunities that come with it.
As a bonus, there’s anecdotal evidence that the new monies may go farther than expected. GDOT had committed to rebuilding the state’s largest interchange at GA-400 and I-285 prior to the passage of HB 170. Expected to cost about $1.1 Billion, the project’s bid came in over $400 Million below that. That’s money that can immediately be reinvested in more projects to increase Georgians’ mobility.
Those that decided to put their vote behind action and a bold vision for Georgia’s next decade of transportation projects now have concrete (and asphalt) plans to show their constituents. The critics remain on the sidelines, but are increasingly losing ammunition as the promises made during the debate are being kept through transparency and committed funds to both maintenance and new projects.
Charlie Harper is the Executive Director of PolicyBEST, a public policy think tank focused on issues of Business & Economic Development, Education, Science & Medicine, and Transportation. He’s also the publisher of GeorgiaPol.com, a website dedicated to State & Local politics of Georgia.
About Author
Charlie
Founder of GeorgiaPol.com; Now weekly columnist Very interested in Georgia and Georginas. Interest in politics is waning daily.
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Agree with the road maintenance spending and freight corridors but do we accomplish anything positive long term by spending billions more on the 285 corridor? Four more toll lanes on 285 alone is likely to cost several billion and the disruption will be huge.
I do however, like the Gwinnett County approach which involves small road projects and improved bus service.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2016/01/gwinnett-seeks-12-3-million-in-state-grants-to.html?ana=e_atl_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2016-01-25&u=jG6E4YjWaInuldsPN1cGkFF5Wth&t=1453735767
The biggest impediment to mobility in Atlanta right now is the lack of ability to move East West.
The Northern Arc is dead. There will be smaller projects such as expanding some existing roads with additional lanes and/or grade separations. But 285 remains the new downtown connector in terms of bottlenecks in both directions where folks can’t get through.
And yes, the cost will be north of $5 Billion to complete. But it will be done (most likely as I understand it) as a public-private partnership where tolls will finance some of the construction and ongoing maintenance costs. That’s going to be the new model for additional capacity in the metro area: You want to move faster than bumper to bumper at peak times: You can. For a price. There’s just no other way to do it given the great demand and limited resources.
I assumed the 400/285 project would be the end of the 285 projects on the north side. As for the additional lanes on 285, for years we were told there was no room for more lanes but I guess they found the space. Also public/private financing does make the cost a bit more palatable.
I think this transportation bill is a necessary step but what comes next? We can’t keep building roads and mass-transit is difficult (and expensive) with our suburban density and sprawl.
Has anyone seriously looked at the idea that self-driving cars might be more space efficient at utilizing the roadways and offer a possible help for metro-Atlanta traffic congestion? I know the technology is “not quite there yet” but all the solutions take time. Would it make sense to really push the enabling legislation/research/road-changes that might bring it faster?
Do you think mandating self driving cars in Atlanta will be cheaper than mass-transit? At some point people have to realize they are going to sit in traffic if they live in the suburbs (me and my wife) or pay more to live ITP. There are options to help traffic, but the idea of cutting your commute in half during rush hour will never happen. Even with robot cars.
I know that Trey Kelley in the house has been one of the leaders in making sure Georgia is on the forefront of preparing for self-driving cars. It makes sense as a lot of the technology will likely be worked on at Georgia Tech, and GM has a R&D center for their tech efforts in Alpharetta.
As for transit, that’s going to get a serious look this session. The funding model at the moment is still that the local counties put up the money for it. I still believe there is a path to get the state more involved here, as we’re at the point where 20% of the state lives in a MARTA county now, 1/3 lives in the MARTA 3 county region, and many other counties have major transit systems they are trying to get funded for expansion (i.e., Chatham). The three major state leaders (Gov, Lt Gov, & Speaker) have all signaled a shift in support toward transit expansion.
Other things that are next: Expanded rail & pipeline. Much of the traffic growth is coming from trucks on the roads, which is being fed by the success of our ports. Getting as much of those containers on rails is and should be a major priority. And any petroleum or nat gas that can be moved by pipeline is something that also frees up capacity on roads & rail.
Those involved in this effort have always said “there’s not one silver bullet”. They also acknowledge HB 170 wasn’t the total solution. But it was a great start, and I’m happy to continue to look for constructive solutions on what remains.
Really hope you’re right about transit being a priority.
One way the state could quickly assist MARTA and get cars off the road is to subsidize (or, hell, completely fund) monthly MARTA passes for state employees. After all, most of them work in buildings located in close proximity to two different MARTA stations. Also, I imagine a good number of those state employees live near a MARTA station but choose to drive because it’s slightly cheaper or more convenient. Subsidizing fares might tilt the balance in favor of transit for some of those folks. And if they don’t elect to use the subsidized passes? There’s no cost to the State. Win-win.
I have a question (that I’m sure shows how much I don’t know about the current system 🙂 ) — I know that some people don’t trust MARTA because of past issues. The non-MARTA counties seem to cooperate well with the GRTA bus system. Would it make sense for GRTA to take the lead on “mass-transit” in the Atlanta area instead of MARTA?