Gwinnett County votes down MARTA expansion

ATLANTA (AP) A contract with Atlanta's public transportation provider that would have brought a significant expansion of mass transit has been voted down by Gwinnett County voters.

Gwinnett County's referendum Tuesday asked if voters wanted to authorize a contract with MARTA and impose a 1-percent sales tax for transit expansion.

Unofficial results from the county's board of elections show that just over 54-percent of the nearly 92,000 votes cast opposed the measure.

Advocates said approval would have helped alleviate traffic problems and air pollution from cars idling in rush-hour gridlock.