Budget balloons for buses in I-85 project

By Ariel Hart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Metro Atlanta hasn't seen bus fare like this.

After the state originally committed to purchase $36.5 million worth of commuter buses and park-and-ride lots as part of the HOV toll lane project on I-85 in Gwinnett County, now that figure is $123.9 million, according to an official at the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

Where the immediate project called for 36 buses, it involves 82 across the region.

And park-and-ride lots will be built in Cherokee County and other metro spots for the project, not just Gwinnett.

All of this rerouting of an expensive project during lean fiscal times has people pointing at others in explaining how it unfolded, but curiously little opposition.

A draft document obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week has revealed a revised transportation project that is the culmination of considerable bureaucratic wrangling spanning two White House administrations. It comes at a time when state and local governments are cutting budgets in every direction.

It's not clear how this will impact the state pocketbook. Either way, a creative push was made for expanded bus service and the innovative tolling project.  The Department of Transportation took $5.2 million of its federally funded road budget and put it toward the I-85 toll project.

“You can’t win for losing if we’re going to get criticized for finding these state funds, which, yes, are taken away from other things," said Karlene Barron, DOT spokeswoman.  "The issue is, we thought it was important to leverage the additional funds not only for the corridor but for the region.”

Some of the additional bus projects were going to be built with different state funds, perhaps just later, or were already under development, said Jim Ritchey, chief deputy director of the authority. Others were less certain and subject to budget requests in future years, he said.

Expanding the project drove up its  budget by $35 million, according to a draft budget document from the state Department of Transportation, although another state agency disputed that interpretation. Bus costs have been offset by savings, including the highway toll portion of the project, which fell by $50 million.  In addition, some bus projects cost less than anticipated, freeing up money for more purchases.

If changes hadn't been made, the state likely would have been forced to give up a $110 million federal grant for the I-85 project.

The state received a double boon for mass transit, not only in Gwinnett but metro wide, the DOT's Barron said.

The budget is no worse, rather far better off, State Road and Tollway Authority director Gena Evans said. The project cost came down.  Money was switched between projects that were going to be completed and the state was given $110 million it couldn't have received otherwise.  A state DOT draft document showed the $147 million budget had ballooned to $182 million. That was a gross misinterpretation of facts, said Evans, who added she was furious when she saw it.  In response, DOT officials stressed the document was only a draft, prepared in discussion with SRTA staff and others and subject to revision, but was accurate for now.

The state was preparing to invest heavily in both roads and mass transit using several funds, and this was a critical project, said Bert Brantley, spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, who appoints the GRTA board and chairs the SRTA board.

"This is a project that we believe not only can make a difference on that particular corridor, but will be a test project for projects around the region," Brantley said. "Commuter buses are a viable alternative, this will take that to the next level."

The express bus system will face a funding crisis by2012, when operating subsidies run out, transportation officials said. If replacement money is not found, it is uncertain whether the system can continue.  In addition, ridership has fallen slightly in the last year after rising dramatically the year before that, Ritchey said. None of the money from the I-85 grant, or the state money added to the project, can pay for day-to-day operations subsidies.

The express bus system will buy additional buses and facilities as part of the I-85 project, and this fits the state strategy for battling congestion and addressing mobility needs, Ritchey said.

“The state very much wanted to implement the express program and do the express expansion,” Ritchey said. “This was an incredible amount of dollars to make the express program work.”

The budget mix-up revolved around mass transit money normally spent on projects such as buses that the Bush administration promised as part of $110 million in grants for the I-85 project.  Officials at three state agencies agreed that federal and state officials were under the impression mass transit money would fund buses as well as the highway toll portion.  If Georgia pitched in $37 million, the $147 million project could pay for both the toll lanes and some park-and-ride lots and buses along that corridor.

That changed. Last year, federal officials told Georgia that the bus money had to be spent on buses, not highway tolling.  If the state wanted the toll lane built, it had to plug the hole with state money.  To keep the $110 million,  Georgia had a choice to make.

After a scramble to find and swap money, the state pitched in.

Confusion over Washington's ruling centered around the change in federal administrations, from Bush to Obama,  said Evans, who headed the state DOT at the time. It was was a miscalculation by Georgia and federal highway officials, Ritchey said.