A trio of large-scale cart path projects in Peachtree City has survived the initial chopping block for potential funding from a regional transportation sales tax.
Joining them is a proposed $22.5 million for improvements to the often-clogged junction of Interstate 85 and Ga. Highway 74, the bane of thousands of commuters as they commute to and from the metro Atlanta area.
There’s even some love for Tyrone, with improvements and resurfacing for Castlewood Road, and also Palmetto Road, along with a multi-use path stretching along Tyrone Road from Hwy. 74 to Ga. Highway 54 near Fayetteville.
Making the first round of cuts is a good sign for these projects, but it’s still early in the process. They will be in the mix for funding, but there’s still the matter of whether they will make the final cut.
The sales tax is estimated to raise $8 billion in the 10-county metro Atlanta region, but nearly $23 billion in projects remain on the list. So there’s a lot of cutting to do across the entire region.
The responsibility of paring down that list lies with the 21-member Regional Transportation Roundtable. Fayette County has two representatives on that group: former Peachtree City mayor and current county commission Chairman Herb Frady and Fayetteville Mayor Ken Steele, who is the current president of the Georgia Municipal Association.
The real power, however, rests with voters, who will be asked in June 2012 to approve a 10-year penny sales tax to fund the list of projects.
The “gateway” path bridge over Ga. Highway 54 West was one of the big-ticket cart path items that survived the first round of cuts. Also remaining in contention for funding is a new cart path that would reach from the new Flat Creek golf cart bridge up to Crosstown Road. This path would connect to a number of the city’s industries including Panasonic and Gerresheimer along with the Federal Aviation Administration’s traffic control center.
Another path project in the running would connect the Flat Creek bridge westward to a tunnel underneath Ga. Highway 74 and then a new path going north towards the southern end of the city’s industrial park and south to the city’s Baseball and Soccer Complex. This path would connect with businesses such as Cooper Lighting and SANY in addition to others.
Two road improvement projects also made the list for Peachtree City:
• Improvements to Ga. Highway 54 and Commerce Drive; and
• The second phase of extending MacDuff Parkway to Ga. Highway 74.
