In their first meeting since Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a new transportation law that curbs his powers over toll projects, state Transportation Board members said they may revive a proposal to add new toll lanes to Ga. 400.
A state committee dominated by Perdue allies killed the Ga. 400 proposal in October, but that was under the old law.
Senate Bill 200, which Perdue signed last week, made big news by taking away some powers of the state Department of Transportation's board, and drew the board's ire. But when it comes to privately financed toll roads, the new law seems to let the board choose toll projects without the governor's explicit approval.
DOT Assistant Treasurer Earl Mahfuz said the staff was also working on a proposal that some DOT board members long favored, to plan a comprehensive toll system for metro Atlanta.
DOT Board Chairman Bill Kuhlke said the board wasn't poking its thumb in the governor's eye by vowing to move "aggressively" on toll projects and reviving talk of the Ga. 400 project, which was proposed by the private consortium Crossroads 400.
"That's just the way it came out," Kuhlke said. "Ga. 400 is probably the most practical one to move forward on." Former DOT commissioner and Perdue ally Gena Evans, whom the board fired in February, voted last year to kill the Ga. 400 proposal, against the board's instructions.
Kuhlke said legal questions remain about whether the new law would allow reviving the proposal, but it should be looked into.
Perdue's chief of staff, Ed Holcombe, attended part of the meeting Wednesday and Thursday and said the governor's office was evaluating its role in toll projects under the new law.
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