Hartsfield-Jackson, MARTA get federal funding

[Guest donaltopablo]

The most interesting thing in this article is that MARTA is getting federal funding to support the NW BRT line from Midtown to Cobb County.

Hartsfield-Jackson, MARTA get federal funding

U.S. Sens. Zell Miller and Saxby Chambliss report that several transportation projects in the Atlanta area will receive funding as part of the Fiscal Year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill that Congress will consider next week.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, MARTA and others have been allocated more than $40.2 million in the final bill.

"These funds are a major win for the metropolitan Atlanta area and for all who live, work and drive around Atlanta," Miller said. "This money will help ease traffic congestion and ensure that the Atlanta area remains a thriving economic center."

In the 2004 Fiscal Year Omnibus Appropriations bill, MARTA will receive $11.7 million for mass transportation projects. These funds will be used for three projects: $6 million for MARTA Clean Fuel Buses; $4.7 million for MARTA Automated Fare Collection System; and $1 million for MARTA Hamilton Clean Fuel Bus Facility.

Congress is also expected to approve $7.14 million for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). These funds will be used for two projects: $5 million for GRTA Regional Express Buses and bus facilities and $2.14 million for GRTA Northwest Corridor Bus Rapid Transit System.

Local airports will also benefit from the funds. Hartsfield-Jackson will receive $4 million for runway lighting, and Richard B. Russell Airport in Rome will receive $200,000 for a runway extension. Also, included in the bill are $1 million for the construction of a runway in Paulding County and $1 million for an instrument landing system in Gainesville.

"This funding is critically important to building Paulding's airport and this will greatly assist this thriving county," Chambliss said. "We recently met with community leaders from Paulding County who said an airport would benefit the entire community. I was pleased to help cut through the federal red tape and get this important project moving."

Also included in the bill are funds for a number of road construction and improvement projects in the Atlanta area: $2.75 million for a Park and Ride project in Athens-Clarke County; $1.6 million to widen the sidewalks of Floyd Road and Veterans Memorial Highway; $1.6 million for the Athens multimodal station; $1.5 million for BRT improvements in DeKalb County; $1.5 million for a pedestrian underpass in Kennesaw; $800,000 for Interstate 75 at Aviation Boulevard; $750,000 for noise barriers on Interstate 85 in Coweta County; $500,000 for the Georgia Tech Transportation Research Center; $500,000 for noise walls on Interstate 20 from Fulton Industrial Boulevard to H.E. Holmes in Fulton County; $500,000 for noise walls on Interstate 285 from Henderson Mill to Chamblee Tucker Road; $480,000 for noise walls on Interstate 285 from Interstate 20 to Bouldercrest Road; $400,000 for a Forest Park/Atlanta State Farmers Market Transportation Study; $400,000 for a streetscape project in Lithonia; and $100,000 for SR 316 improvements in Gwinnett County; $750,000 for the Forsyth Downtown Streetscape Project; $500,000 for Georgia Veterans Memorial Park in Rockdale County; $400,000 for pedestrian safety on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Gwinnett County;

The legislation is expected to become law after receiving approval from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Additionally, the dollar amounts could change slightly due to an across the board reduction that would affect all projects in the bill.