Atlanta Regional Commission approves $265 million for transport projects across metro area

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Regional Commission approved hundreds of millions of dollars in funding as part of an amendment to their regional Transportation Improvement Plan.

The amended TIP will now allocate $265.4 million in a combination of state and federal funds to pay for various transportation projects across the metro Atlanta area.

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Funding is split between $38.2 million from congressionally directed spending grants, $221.6 million from federal discretionary grant funding and $7.5 million from the Georgia Department of Transportation’s formula fund sources.

In an executive summary from ARC about the amended TIP, officials from the commission said the projects will be spread out across “many jurisdictions within in the Atlanta region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Spalding counties” and include multiuse trails, planning and studies, roadway expansions and operations, bridge rehabilitation and safety improvements.

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If approved after review, funding for the projects would increase from just over $30 million to nearly $500 million, according to ARC.

ARC said the funds will be used to pay for 12 projects already underway and 33 new ones, including:

• Flint River Gateway Trails: The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded two grants totaling $65 million for this planned 31-mile multi-use trail network that will connect the Atlanta BeltLine in Southwest Atlanta, Clayton County, and the Tri-Cities area of College Park, East Point, and Hapeville, which includes the headwaters of the Flint River. The funds, awarded through the federal Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program, will be used to build three trail segments and plan nine other sections.
• The Stitch: This effort to build a park-like ‘cap’ over a portion of the Downtown Connector in the City of Atlanta has received more than $150 million in federal grants and congressionally directed spending grants for work that includes preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and some construction.
• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) projects: EV charging infrastructure is planned along I-575 in northern Cherokee County and I-85 in Coweta County, utilizing $2 million in federal discretionary funding.
• Transit Fleet Upgrades: $2.55 million in congressionally directed spending grants to improve rolling stock and customer amenities on Gwinnett County Transit Route 50, which serves the Suwanee area, and Route 60, which connects Georgia Gwinnett College to Lawrenceville and Snellville via SR 124.
• Connected Vehicle Pilot and Plan Development: Henry County will utilize a $600,000 SMART grant from the Federal Highway Administration to improve roadway operations and decrease vehicle response times.

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