More info on ARC spending

The Atlanta Regional commission’s PLAN 2040 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is a $59 billion blueprint for transportation spending in an 18-county region through the year 2040. Due to the cost of maintaining the region’s existing network, there is only about $15 billion for expansion over that time.

The update focuses the plan even more heavily on relieving the region’s worst bottlenecks and providing residents with more options for getting around. It also takes into account some shifts in priorities by local jurisdictions and by the federal government following the passage of a new federal funding bill called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).

One highlight of the update is that ARC was able to take applications from local jurisdictions for new projects under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program (CMAQ), which requires that projects meet certain congestion and air quality standards. CMAQ projects include:

• $15.2 million for operations of the Atlanta Streetcar, scheduled to start running in May.
• $11.4 million to reduce MARTA rail wait times from 15 to 10 minutes during morning and afternoon rush hours.
• $24 million in signal synchronizations and traffic management systems along key freight and commuting corridors around the region.
• $9.6 million for diverging-diamond interchanges at I-75 and Windy Hill Road in Cobb County and I-285 and Camp Creek Parkway in Fulton County.
• $3.6 million to replace diesel MARTA buses with natural gas buses in south Fulton County.
• $44 million to extend the I-85 HOT lanes from Old Peachtree Road to Hamilton Mill Road.

Aside from these CMAQ projects, the 2040 plan includes other critical projects that will get underway between now and 2016. These include:

• $65.5 million for an underpass and realignment of Ga. 92 in Douglasville.
• $3 million for an underpass at Old Covington Highway and Ga. 138.
• $557.8 million for express toll lanes along I-75 from Charles Grant Parkway to two miles south of Ga. 155.
• $935 million for express toll lanes along I-75 from Akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road and along I-575 from I-75 to Sixes Road.
• $112 million to extend existing express toll lanes along I-85 from Old Peachtree to Hamilton Mill roads.
• $8.7 million for pedestrian/bicycle facilities and upgrades along Juniper Street and Ponce De Leon Avenue in the city of Atlanta.
• $3.2 million for pedestrian/bicycle facilities along Franklin Road in Cobb County.
• $5.4 million for medians and pedestrian/bicycle improvements along Buford Highway and in Suwanee in Gwinnett County
• $1.6 million to improve intersections and safety along Ga. 6 in Cobb and Douglas counties, which carries truck traffic to and from the largest freight rail facility in the Southeast.