A preliminary first round of cuts has trimmed some $116.8 million in Fayette County road improvement projects from the equation, at least for now, when it comes to potential funding with a regional sales tax that will be considered by voters in June 2012.
Making the cut were some $130.8 million in projects inside Fayette County, not including another $22.5 million for arguably the most significant congestion-relief project which would be just across the county line in Fairburn: improvements to the interchange of Ga. Highway 74 and Interstate 85.
Removed from the list were two costly projects estimated to be around $44 million each: widening Ga. Highway 279 from Hwy. 85 to the Fulton County line and operational improvements to Ga. Highway 92 from Ga. Highway 85 up to Oakley Industrial Boulevard in Fulton County.
The preliminary cuts also axed a multi-use path along Tyrone Road from Ga. Highway 74 to Ga. Highway 54 ($2 million), operational improvements on Hwy. 85 south of Fayetteville from Bernhard Road to Hwy. 74 ($5.8 million), operational improvements on Ga. Highway 92 south of Fayetteville from McBride Road to the Spalding County line ($414.1 million), intersection improvements at Ga. Highway 54 and Commerce Drive in Peachtree City ($1.2 million) and several smaller projects.
However, even though those projects were trimmed in this most recent round, they still can be added back into the funding mix by a majority vote of the 21-member Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable which includes two Fayette representatives: County Commission Chairman Herb Frady and Fayetteville Mayor Ken Steele.
In addition to the I-85 and Hwy. 74 interchange, some other significant projects remain on the list for potential funding, but they still must survive further cuts as the roundtable aims at about $6 billion in estimated revenue the tax will get regionwide.
Still up for potential funding are the realignment of Ga. Highway 92 north as it comes into downtown Fayetteville, widening Ga. Highway 85 south of Fayetteville from Grady Avenue downtown to Bernhard Road, the gateway golf cart path bridge on Hwy. 54 West at MacDuff Parkway near the city limits, golf cart path connections for the southern tip of the Peachtree City industrial park and the widening of Hwy. 92 south of Fayetteville from Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard to McBride Road.
Also still on the list is the East Fayetteville Bypass, which would arc around Fayetteville running from Hwy. 85 north of town along Corinth Road, but the project assumes the road will spill out on Hwy. 85 south which so far has not been in the plans for the project.
A new project on the list added by state officials is a connector road between Hwy. 92 and Ga. Highway 138 near Union City. The project has a cost estimate of $18.3 million. According to the project datasheet, the road could be accomplished by widening Peters Road to four lanes. Peters Road and Lester Road are among the most-used “shortcuts” for those seeking access to I-85 in Union City.
