Costs of transportation troubles outlined

Transportation woes could cost Georgia 320,000 potential jobs and $515 billion in potential economic benefits during the next 20 years if the state sticks to “business as usual,” according to a new state report released Thursday.

Traffic jams and the lack of access to reliable transportation in metro Atlanta increasingly will limit the number of jobs people can commute to, and the number of potential workers an employer can expect to attract, according to the study presented to the state Transportation Board.

That, in turn, could make Atlanta a less attractive market for employers, the study said, and discourage commercial hauling from the Savannah port.

To reap that $515 billion in potential benefits, the state will have to invest up to $250.7 billion over 20 years in transportation improvements. That’s $49.2 billion to $161.9 billion less than government officials currently expect to have to spend.

“I think they showed the benefits far outweigh the costs of taking action. It gave a clearer picture of what it’s going to take to keep Georgia prosperous,” said Matthew Hicks, associate legislative director for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, which is part of a coalition lobbying for more state transportation money.

The study’s authors, in a presentation Thursday, didn’t discuss specific sources of money to pay for the improvements they call for. Instead, they concentrated on the possible benefits of different types of transportation investments.

By building innovative projects and trying to coordinate projects better with Atlanta’s development patterns, the metro area could reap 230,000 jobs over 30 years, and up to $345 billion in benefits, the study said.

“Over the last 10 to 20 years, Georgia has under-managed and under-invested in its assets,” according to the report.