N. Ga. projects among those delayed by failure to pass Transportation Funding Bill

ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) announced Thursday that it will have to delay bids for 34 road projects in December; several of those projects are located in the North Georgia area.

 

In a press statement, GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said the decision was made to delay bids for the $123 million worth of road and bridge projects because there's no guarantee Congress will extending funding via the Federal Highway Trust Fund.

 

"It has been ten years since Congress has been able to pass a transportation funding bill of more than a two-year duration,” McMurry said iin the press statement. “Temporary fixes do not create the certainty state DOTs require in order to plan major transportation projects. We can’t do long-term transportation planning with short-term funding fixes.”

 

The deadline to extend funding is Thursday, October 29.

“If Congress does not reach an agreement by then, US DOT will cut off payments for infrastructure projects to states and local governments in November. This poses grave challenges for our transportation system," said McMurry.

Among the 34 projects placed on hold are projects in five North Georgia counties:

*Franklin County:  Downtown Lavonia streetscape enhancement ($250,000)

*Gwinnett County: Phase III of the Southeastern Railway Museum ($625,000)

*Habersham County: Bridge preservation along SR 15 ($325,000)

*Hart County: Resurfacing and maintenance of portions of Old Highway 29 ($632,763)

*Lumpkin County: Dowtown Dahlonega streetscape ($1,216,056.95)