Chicago couldn't do it. Neither could Salt Lake City, Denver or Dallas. None of these metro regions was able to develop a viable solution to congestion without taking a multicounty funding approach, and neither will metro Atlanta.

Senate Resolution 845, a measure under consideration in the Georgia General Assembly, would grant regions across the state the authority to levy a sales tax of up to 1 percent to fund a specified list of transportation projects.

That list of projects —- and the sales tax to support it —- would be adopted in a regional referendum, and all the money raised in the region would be spent in that same region. The impact would be $700 million in annual revenue for roads, transit, bike lanes and sidewalks for the 10 core counties in metro Atlanta —- about one-third more than the total spent on transportation projects in the same area each year.

Chicago, Salt Lake City, Denver and Dallas all use dedicated multicounty sales tax revenues to support their growing transportation needs. Although Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing metro regions in the nation, Georgia spends less money on transportation per capita than any other state.

That one-two punch has staggered the metro area, crippling our ability to compete when it comes to recruiting employers. Our air quality and our quality of life have both taken blows.

Although SR 845 is not the single remedy for decades of underinvestment, it represents the best chance we have to stop the bleeding. Atlanta's traffic snarls span municipal boundaries and county lines, and so must our transportation projects. We need regional solutions for regional problems, and this could be our only shot at the sustainable transportation funding mechanism the metro area has been yearning for.

The measure is scheduled for a vote in the House today. Log on to GetGeorgiaMoving.com, click "Contact Your Lawmakers," and send an e-mail to your state elected officials asking for their support.

Joe Leonard, chairman of AirTran Airways, also chairs the transportation policy committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and co-chairs the Get Georgia Moving Coalition. Bill Linginfelter is former Georgia CEO for Wachovia Bank and former chairman of the transportation policy committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.