Atlanta consulting firm to help Clayton County on transportation

Clayton County on Tuesday approved a deal to work with an Atlanta firm on the south metro community’s transportation needs.

Ohio River South will help Clayton obtain federal and state funding for transportation, advocate on behalf of Clayton at the Georgia General Assembly and help the county identify programming that is working and build on them. The group will be paid a $14,000 monthly retainer for a total $168,000 contract.

The decision comes as Clayton is at a crossroads in its efforts to broaden it public transportation. A recent decision by MARTA to focus more on bus rapid transit for the county appears to have put commuter rail on the back burner in part because of challenges in raising state and federal funding for the project.