FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Report available at: tripnet.org 

 Contact: Carolyn Bonifas Kelly 703.801.9212 (cell)

Rocky Moretti 202.262.0714 (cell)

TRIP office 202.466.6706

GEORGIA’S 2015 TRANSPORTATION FUNDING INCREASE ALLOWED FOR IMPROVED ROAD & BRIDGE CONDITIONS AND ENHANCED MOBILITY. ADDITIONAL FUNDS STILL NEEDED TO ADDRESS REGION’S TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND TRAFFIC SAFETY CHALLENGES AND ACCOMMODATE GROWING TRAVEL

Atlanta, GA– The 2015 passage of Georgia’s Transportation Funding Act (TFA) allowed the state to address many of its transportation challenges by investing in road, highway and bridge repairs, roadway safety improvements, and congestion relief. Despite this progress, the state will still need additional increases in reliable transportation funding to maintain its aging transportation system,  improve traffic safety and serve the future needs of Georgia’s growing economy, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC based national transportation organization.

The TRIP report, Modernizing Georgia’s Transportation System: Progress & Challenges in Providing Safe, Efficient and Well-Maintained Roads, Highways & Bridges,” examines the impact of additional funds provided by passage of the TFA – a total of $5.4 billion from 2016 to 2021- and includes lists of projects throughout the state that will be completed or underway by 2021 partially as a result of increased transportation funding. The report also lists needed projects throughout the state that still lack sufficient funding to proceed prior to 2022. The chart below details projects outside the state’s largest urban areas that will be completed or underway by 2021 as a result of increased funding, and needed transportation projects outside the state’s largest urban areas that still lack sufficient funding to proceed.

Atlanta Projects Underway by 2021 As A Result of Increased Transportation Funding

  Project Description County/Counties Improvement Year Cost Benefit Of Project
I-20 Columbia Dr to Panola Rd - Movable Barriers DeKalb Barriers 2020 $18.4 Million Congestion Relief
I-75 NB CD System from SR 331 to I-285 Clayton Ramp 2018 $41.8 Million Congestion Relief
SR3/US 19/US 41 from S of Tara Rd to S of SR 54 Clayton Widening 2019 $30.4 Million Congestions Relief
W Winder Bypass - CR 325/Matthews School Rd to SR 211-PH I Barrow Widening 2018 $38.3 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 316 @ SR 81, @ SR 11, & @ SR 53 Barrow Interchanges (3) 2018 $47 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 20-Sharon Church Rd to Brand Rd; 3 Intersections Gwinnett, Walton Widening 2020-2021 $47.6 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 92-SR 3/US 41 to Glade Rd Cobb Widening 2019 $31.8 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 9- Windward Pkwy to Forsyth County Line Fulton Widening 2021 $31.5 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 9- Fulton County Line to SR 141 Forsyth Widening 2021 $55.8 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
SR 20- I-575 to North Corners Pkwy Cherokee, Forsyth Widening 2019-2021 $91 Million Congestion Relief; Safety
MLK Jr Drive @ Rich's Parking Lot In Atlanta Fulton Bridges 2019 $44 Million Replace Outdated Bridge
I-75 to Chattahoochee River to AllGood Road Cobb Resurface & Maintenance 2018 $32 Million Preservation
I-20 From SR 5 to Sweetwater Creek Douglas Resurface & Maintenance 2019 $31.7 Million Preservation

Atlanta Projects That Lack Funding to Proceed Prior to 2022

  Project Description County/Counties Improvement Cost Benefit of Project
Panola Rd @ I-20 - Fairington Rd - Snapfinger Woods Dr DeKalb Interchange $26.7 Million Ops of Inch/Mainline - RW Phase
SR 92 - Nebo Rd to Picketts Mill Pl Cobb, Paulding Widening $30.2 Million Congestion Relief
I-85 - SR 74/Senoia Rd Fulton Interchange $35.0 Million Ops of Inch/Mainline - RW Phase
I-20 @ SR 138/SR 20 Intch Recon & Widening Rockdale Interchange $36.4 Million Congestion Relief
SR 42 - Downtown McDonough to SR 138 Henry Widening $21.9 Million Congestion Relief; RW Phase
West Winder BYP @ SR 316 - New Interchange - PH III Barrow Interchange $19.6 Million New Location; Access to Corridor
SR 9 - N of SR 141 to N of SR 20 Forsyth Widening $18.1 Million Congestion Relief
I-285/Bouldercrest Rd Intch DeKalb Interchange $35.1 Million Congestion Relief; Ops of Inch/Mainline
SR 166 - Old Lower River Rod/Douglas to SR 70/Fulton Douglas, Fulton Widening $19.1 Million Congestion Relief; RW Phase
SR 20 - CR 762/Union Hill Rd - E of CS 579/N Corners PKWY Cherokee, Forsyth Widening $183.9 Million Congestion Relief, Safety
Jonesboro Rd - W of SR 3/US 41/Clayton to I-75/Henry Clayton/Henry Widening $51.7 Million Congestion Relief
SR 6 - I-20 WB to SR 6 Spur - Truck Friendly Lanes Cobb, Henry Minor Widen & Resurface $35.7 Million Congestion Relief
SR 61 - S of CR 467/Dallas Nebo Rd to SR 6 Paulding Widening $41.0 Million Congestion Relief
SR 371 - SR 9 to CR 5/Kelly Mill Rd Forsyth Widening $41.0 Million Congestion Relief

“Thanks to the support of elected leaders who understand the critical role that our state’s infrastructure plays in our economy and quality of life, we are making historic levels of investment and are able to better plan for future growth,” said Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.  “That said, additional funding is without question still necessary in order to fully meet our needs, and we are hopeful we will be able to attract federal support while identifying additional state and local resources.”

With Georgia’s population anticipated to increase by 2.5 million people by 2040 and vehicle travel in the state growing at the second highest rate nationally since 2013, the TRIP report found that traffic congestion in the Atlanta area is worsening, causing 56 annual hours of delay for the average motorist and costing the average driver $1,226 annually in lost time and wasted fuel.

“Ensuring the safety of drivers throughout our state should be at the forefront of our transportation planning process.  That includes access to public transportation, which is one of the greatest tools we have to address both congestion and safety by taking cars off the roads. The legislation passed by the General Assembly earlier this year was a tremendous step forward in addressing this need, which will only become more critical as our population continues to grow,” said Seth Millican, executive director of the Georgia Transportation Alliance.

Traffic crashes in Georgia claimed the lives of 6,876 people between 2013 and 2017. The rate of traffic fatalities in Georgia of 1.27 per 100 million miles of travel is above the national average of 1.18.  After decreasing slightly between 2013 and 2014 (from 1,179 to 1,164) the number of Georgia traffic fatalities increased by 25 percent between 2014 and 2017 (from 1,164 to 1,549). In the Atlanta urban area, there were an average of 392 traffic fatalities each year from 2014 to 2016.

According to the TRIP report, five percent of Georgia’s bridges are structurally deficient. Additional funding provided by the TFA has allowed GDOT to increase by three-and-a-half times the annual number of bridges it is able to repair, reconstruct or replace.  An average of 67 bridges were repaired, replaced or reconstructed each year from 2011 to 2015, while an average of 232 bridges will be repaired, replaced or reconstructed each year between 2016 and 2020.

While additional transportation funding provided by the TFA will allow GDOT to reduce the share of state-maintained roads in poor or bad condition, it is not adequate to prevent the share of state roads and highways in excellent or good condition from declining. The share of state-maintained roads in bad or poor condition is projected to fall from 13 percent in 2016 to zero by 2019, but the share of state-maintained roads in excellent or good condition is projected to decline dramatically, falling from 49 percent in 2016 to 15 percent in 2024.

The efficiency and condition of Georgia’s transportation system, particularly its highways, is critical to the health of the state’s economy.  Annually, $790 billion in goods are shipped to and from sites in Georgia, relying heavily on the state’s network of roads and bridges. Increasingly, companies are looking at the quality of a region’s transportation system when deciding where to re-locate or expand. Regions with congested or poorly maintained roads may see businesses relocate to areas with a smoother, more efficient and more modern transportation system.

“While the recent influx of funding has allowed Georgia to make strides in improving its transportation system, more work still needs to be done to accommodate and capitalize on the tremendous growth projected for the state,” said Will Wilkins, TRIP’s executive director. “Georgia will need to continue to make transportation investment a top priority.”