recent court decision means relief for Fayette

County's growing traffic snarls will be delayed

still further, officials say.

In

a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, the U.

S. Court of Appeals has ruled that

"grandfathering" of road improvements

- continuing those that were in the planning

stages before the federal government halted

projects in counties that don't comply with air

quality standards - is illegal.

Fayette

is one of 13 metro Atlanta counties that are in

noncompliance with the federal air standards, but

local transportation officials managed to get

three projects grandfathered: widening of Ga.

Highway 74 south of Ga. Highway 54, building a

bridge over the railroad at Hwy. 54 and

Huddleston Road, and widening of Hwy. 54 from

McDonough Road to Clayton County. Now those

projects are delayed again, but county

transportation director Lee Hearn said this week

the delay may not be too long.

"Hopefully

[regional transportation plan]," said Hearn.

Once the Atlanta Regional Commission completes an

RTP that complies with the federal standards,

Fayette can submit its local transportation

improvement plan and projects can move forward,

he said.

Meanwhile,

Sen. Paul Coverdell has written to county

commissioners in the 13 affected counties asking

for information and looking for ways to get

around the court ruling.

"While

Georgia Department of Transportation officials

report that no official interpretation of the

ruling has been generated, it is my assumption

that the ruling will in fact prohibit funding for

the approximately 70 road projects in metro

Atlanta," Coverdell said. "This will

obviously have ramifications for the area."

The

senator asked for information about how the delay

might affect counties economically, and any

suggestions for dealing with the situation.

"It's

an educational process right now to determine

what our options are," said Alex Albert, a

Coverdell aide. He said Coverdell is working to

set up meetings between the federal Environmental

Protection Agency and local officials to seek

compromise.

"There

may be some legislative solution," he added.

"or we may just have to rely on the ARC to

develop a complying plan."

Fayette

county administrator Billy Beckett said county

staff members have assembled information and sent

it to Coverdell.

"You

don't have to be a rocket scientist to come out

during peak hours and see the problems,"

said Beckett. "Any delay is going to be

harmful to us.

"We

do appreciate the efforts of those who are trying

to reach some reasonable position," said

Beckett. "But predicated on everything I

hear, I don't know that Congress has the

political will to modify things very much."

Fayette

officials are hoping the ARC will come up with a

viable plan by the end of this year, he added.

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