Gov. Nathan Deal's announcement Thursday that the widely despised tolls on Ga. 400 will end in 2013 was welcome news to backers of the July 31 transportation tax referendum, but many question whether it will be enough to send the infrastructure package to victory lane.
Deal, elected in 2010 just after the controversial decision to extend the tolls beyond their expected 2011 expiration date, said taking down the payment booths along a main Atlanta artery delivers on a campaign promise.
"[It is] in keeping with what we think is in the best interest of the state of Georgia," Deal said at a Capitol news conference he called.
For many, Ga. 400 and its 50 cents a car toll stands as an example of government's inability to keep a promise.
The extension of Ga. 400 through Buckhead was desired by business interests but enormously unpopular among neighborhood residents. The state succeeded in building it by promising the city of Atlanta that the toll would come down after the bonds to build it were paid off. In 2010, with the 2011 shutdown if the toll looming and a transportation funding crisis in full swing, then Gov. Sonny Perdue pushed the state to extend the toll to 2020.
Public opinion exploded against the decision, and it has become a rallying cry for today's sales tax opponents.
Deal emphasized that ending the toll indicates the state's ability to keep its word.
The referendum, if approved by voters, would fund more than 150 projects in the Metro Atlanta region with an estimated $6.14 billion the one-cent sales tax increase would raise. But public opinion polls have shown voters are prepared to send the referendum to the scrap heap based, in part, on a lack of confidence that the tax will actually end after 10 years. Voters are also worried the state would squander the money.
Deal, responding to a reporter's question, said his decision on Ga. 400 should help with that.
"We think that should convey to the public that government can be trusted," he said. "But we recognize the importance of transportation [and] we also recognize the importance of public confidence in projects of this magnitude."
‘A political gamble’
Supporters of the referendum were more emphatic.
"Governor Deal has demonstrated that there is a new level of trust and accountability in transportation funding and spending in Georgia," Che Watkins, chairman of the Citizens for Transportation Mobility campaign, said. "Voters need to understand that same commitment to transparency will be the region's top priority as we begin to finally fix Metro Atlanta's congestion."
Yet, others were less certain it will make a difference.
"You either think [the tax plan] is a boondoggle or you're so frustrated you're willing to throw some money at it," said Jim Coonan of Atlanta, a Democratic political consultant not working the referendum campaign. "That will be the decision-making process for many people and they're already there."
Motorists were predictably ecstatic at the prospect of ending the tolls. Andrea Pendleton said she moved from Alpharetta to Midtown so she could walk to work but still drives Ga. 400 on weekends. Deal's decision, she said, "seals the deal" on the transportation referendum.
"Definitely voting in favor," she said.
Jeremy Berry, an attorney who lives in Dunwoody and commutes to downtown Atlanta, hailed Deal's announcement and said it should not only save motorists money but improve traffic as cars will no longer have to merge lanes and stop at the toll plazas.
Berry already supports the transportation referendum and said Deal's decision could help convince others to go along.
"I would think it would help sway those who were on the fence," Berry said. "It shows the government is a good steward of taxpayer dollars."
Danny Gilmore of DeKalb County feels otherwise. While the decision to remove the tolls was likely intended to build support for the referendum, Gilmore said he doubts it will have the desired effect.
"If the [referendum] fails ... the decision to drop the Ga. 400 toll could be another loss of revenue," he said, calling it "a bit of a political gamble."
Others who oppose the transportation referendum nonetheless cheered Deal's move to end the tolls.
"Anything that restores trust in government is good for everybody," Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, said. Rogers has said he will vote "No" on July 31.
Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, is another transportation tax opponent. But Albers has long sought an end to the Ga. 400 tolls and sponsored legislation to do so, although his bill was shot down in a Senate committee.
"A promise made is a promise kept," Albers said. "I look forward to bringing my sledgehammer down on December 1, 2013 to remove these tolls for good."
But neither lawmaker was willing to say the move could boost the July 31 vote.
"People will vote on this based on the list that's before them, but the governor's actions today is outstanding," Rogers said.
The toll booths sit in the district of House Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, who couldn't stop smiling following Deal's announcement.
"This is one government project I'd like to have out of my district," Lindsey said.
What’s ahead
Deal wants the toll shut down by the end of December 2013. State Road and Tollway Authority executive director Gena Evans said Thursday that drivers will see activity at the plaza long before then. The demolition, which would require filling in spaces beneath the plaza as well as keeping traffic flowing during the work, would cost an estimated $5 million to $6 million, she said.
Ending the tolls will not end the need for improvements along the Ga. 400 corridor. Deal said Thursday those future needs "will continue to be addressed by the appropriate authorities."
How those improvements will be paid for is not clear. The state Department of Transportation hopes to build optional toll lanes alongside Ga. 400, and has been actively pursuing that goal. Until now, the optional lanes would have been only north of I-285; the state could now try to put the optional toll lanes both north and south of I-285.
The toll project faces funding challenges, however, and it is not yet clear when it would be built.
The transportation tax project list includes several improvements to Ga. 400, the most extensive — and expensive — of which is a reworked interchange at I-285 and Ga. 400.
"Therefore, the [transportation referendum] vote and the approval of projects such as this one will have a critical impact on traffic in that Ga. 400 corridor," Deal said.
Without the transportation tax, Deal said, it's doubtful the state would be able to fund those projects without the tax money the referendum could produce.
"The only foreseeable opportunity to do that quite frankly is to pass the [transportation] referendum," Deal said. "Without that revenue, the projects that are on that list both for metropolitan Atlanta and the other regions of the state will not have the revenue available to fund them in the near future, and that will create some real difficulties in my opinion."
Deal has long supported the plan, but that support has largely been evidenced through behind-the-scenes meetings, fund raisers for the campaign and in statements of support to the media. Deal, who said he was pleased to see Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's recent vow of "all out" support for the tax, promised Thursday that his support will continue through July 31.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said the governor will "again ask Georgians to support this effort. He'll be a part of the closing argument."
A history of Ga. 400
May 16, 1983: The proposal to build a 6.4-mile extension of Ga. 400 from I-285 through Buckhead to I-85 comes up for its first vote before the Atlanta City Council. Council deadlocks 9-9, effectively killing the proposal for the moment.
Oct. 17, 1988: City Council votes to ban all toll roads inside the city limits —- a move aimed expressly at shutting down the Ga. 400 extension.
May 16, 1989: With strong support from then-Mayor Andrew Young, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Ga. 400 extension passes City Council. Council votes to allow tolls but limits them to 50 cents.
June 26, 1990: Federal appeals court in Atlanta rules against opponents of the project, clearing the way for the state DOT to begin construction. Contractors go to work that summer.
June 12, 1991: The State Road and Tollway Authority approves sale of $96.1 million on bonds to help pay for the 400 project. The bonds will be paid off in 20 years —- in June 2011 —- from toll revenue.
Aug. 1, 1993: After three years of construction, the Ga. 400 extension opens to traffic.
Sept. 24, 2010: SRTA board votes to extend toll to 2020.
July 19, 2012: Gov. Nathan Deal announces plans to end the tolls by the end of December 2013.
Staff writers Ariel Hart and Nicole Chavez contributed to this report.
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