Georgia legislative committee schedule for Wednesday, Feb. 8

APRIL 17, 2014 ATLANTA Photos showing the Georgia State Capitol, the old Department of Transportation building and the capitol parking deck, Thursday, April 17, 2014. Crews start demolishing a 60-year-old parking deck across from the statehouse this week, beginning what could be a years long project to give Capitol Hill it's first major facelift since the Jimmy Carter was president. The parking area will be transformed into Liberty Plaza, a protest-rally-park area that could become home to a planned new monument to MLK. Contractors will also rip up and rework the "front door" of the Capitol, the steps where racist editor and politician Tom Watson's statue stood until November, and renovate the old DOT building into office space. State officials are also talking of closing and/or rerouting traffic around the Capitol, and a new judicial complex and history center are being planned. Liberty Plaza, which is scheduled to be open before the 2015 session, will be the first, non-parking addition to the Capitol Hill since the Twin Towers were completed in 1980s. The changes will cost the state millions of dollars but supporters say it is a long time coming for an area that was once surrounded by factories and rail yards. KENT D. JOHNSON/KDJOHNSON@AJC.COM