Gov. Nathan Deal sought Wednesday to cast a hopeful tone over the future of transportation. The current reality is grim. For starters, starting June 1, Georgia is facing a $367.2 million shortfall in necessary federal transportation funds in the
“We are currently operating at a rate that requires over 50 years to resurface every state road in Georgia. If your road is paved when you graduate high school, by the time it is paved again you will be eligible for Social ...more
By David Pendered
Forsyth County is quietly going about its business of building $200 million of road projects, and on Thursday commissioners discussed plans for new interchange at Ga. 400.
To keep this sum in perspective, Atlanta voters on March 15 will have a chance to cast their ballots on a proposed $252 million bond issue to improve transportation and city buildings.
In addition, Forsyth County on Monday received the highest credit rating possible from Moody’s Investors Service for an upcoming bond issue ...more
Georgia lawmakers should be mindful of the state’s tourism industry as they deliberate proposed religious freedom bills, leaders of the state’s hospitality industry told a House panel Tuesday.
But with supporters rallying in the Capitol’s Rotunda and then spilling to the ceremonial front door Atlanta City Hall, the proposals already have a lot of momentum. A Republican committee member indicated advocates won’t go quietly into the night.
“We hear this a lot – ‘You guys shouldn’t do that because it will ...more
The first segment of the PATH400 trail is officially open, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony that recognized an historic city-state agreement to create green space in Buckhead.
Eventually, the trail will wind beneath and alongside Ga. 400 because the Georgia Department of Transportation granted unprecedented access to unused right of way. The trail will begin near a cemetery and is to connect near Piedmont Hospital with the Atlanta BeltLine.
The wind chill took temperatures to 24 degrees at the ribbon cutting of ...more
The Georgia Legislature’s new report on transportation funding recognizes the need to improve the state’s freight handling systems, but goes into little detail.
The report does observe that freight must be accommodated. The report does not note that up to $20 billion is needed to improve roads and rail for the exclusive purpose of moving freight on rails and roads, according to a consultant’s report released in 2011 by the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The new report created by the Legislature’s joint ...more
The Georgia Legislature’s committee report on transportation funding does not appear to acknowledge the one financing method being employed to ease two major bottlenecks in metro Atlanta.
The words, “public private partnership,” seem to appear nowhere in 12 potential solutions named in the report. It’s as if the P3 approach that’s successfully underway in the Northwest Corridor, and planned for the I-285/Ga. 400 area, didn’t warrant mention in the final report.
That said, P3 is still at the top-of-mind at the Georgia ...more
Georgia’s embrace of public private partnerships now extends to college dormitories.
The Board of Regents has approved a deal to put nearly 10,000 students into beds that by 2016 will be managed by one private company. Georgia already has partnered with privately owned entities to manage matters including prisons, distance learning, and roadway construction.
The board approved in November a 65-year deal valued at $517 million with Corvias Group, based in East Greenwich, R.I. Terms are to be finalized next year. The ...more
The No. 1 attribute that business leaders say will they want in their employees is the ability to collaborate, according to a report to Gov. Nathan Deal on high demand careers.
The report also states the top five careers of the future in Georgia are mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, welder, machinist, and computer numerical control operator, according to the report.
For these technical skills to provide their full value, employees must have “soft skills.” The report defines soft skills in terms that ...more
Gov. Nathan Deal has established a water czar to focus the state’s efforts on water supply and litigation.
Although water supply wasn’t much of an issue during the recent gubernatorial campaign, Deal established the position just a month after the election and on the eve of the 2015 legislative session – during which Deal may ask lawmakers to provide additional money for dams and other water projects.
Reservoirs are just one of several state water policies that continue to draw fire from ...more
Just minutes after he was named GRTA’s executive director, Chris Tomlinson was busy Wednesday talking about potential synergy between GRTA and the state agency that oversees managed lanes.
“We’ll roll out incentives to get more people to take advantage of transit,” Tomlinson said. “We hope to shift people out of vehicles, especially at the peaks, and take advantage of what transit providers already are doing.”
This outlook, of merging two state agencies that oversee alternate modes of transit, evidently is what Gov. ...more
