Gainesville Mayor Ruth Bruner is on the Regional Transportation executive committee. She said many of the projects on the projected year 2040 list and the regional sales tax list won't happen unless Northeast Georgia voters approve the one percent sales tax next year.
"A lot of them won't be done because monies are drying up the federal and state level," Mayor Bruner said. " This will be a way that we can get major highways in our whole region that will connect all the cities and counties and help bring in industry and retail."
The committee added Hall Area Transit's funding request to the regional sales tax project list to provide matching funds for federal grants supporting para-transit service for curbside pick-up of senior citizens in need of transportation to medical appointments
The Committee also voted to add an east west route project on Howard Road that could serve as the beginning of a by-pass route for Gainesville. They also approved an amendment to add a connector route for I-85 and I-985 to the MPO's transportation improvement project list.
The regional sales tax list deadline is March 30th; the long-range projects list through the year 2040, must be ready by April 4th.
GHMPO presents its transportation plan and its project list to the public at a meeting set for the Mountains Center this afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
Setting transportation project list priorities to meet deadlines was the focus of Tuesday morning
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