As

commuters vented and raged over travel time to work, the

Atlanta Regional Commission took steps in 1999 to try and

provide other alternatives to driving and cleaning up the

region's air.

In the next

10 years, the transportation infrastructure of Coweta

County will be extensively changed.

The ARC is

the planning agency for 10 counties in the Atlanta

region. While Coweta County is not a member of the

agency, the agency is overseeing many of its projects

because the county is included in a 13-county

non-attainment area for bad air quality.

"This

transportation plan will help the region conform to

federal air quality standards," said assistant

county administrator Eddie Whitlock.

One of the

biggest changes in the transportation arena will be the

option of commuter rail. ARC officials estimate a

commuter rail line will be up and running with a station

in Senoia by 2010.

By 2020,

more than 2,500 commuters will board the rail daily in

Senoia for a trip north into Atlanta. The rail also will

have boarding stations at Peachtree City, Tyrone and Red

Oak. ARC projects that by 2025, more than 10,000 riders

will be boarding the train at the four stops.

One of the

biggest traffic headaches currently is the Ga. Highway 34

corridor between Newnan and Peachtree City. Work already

is being done on the section of the road from Ga. Highway

154 to Interstate 85.

Coweta

County Commission Chairman Lawrence Nelms announced late

this fall the Atlanta Regional Commission has agreed to

move the completion date up five years for the widening

of Ga. highways 34 and 54 from Newnan to Peachtree City.

The road

will now be completed in 2005, instead of 2010, which

officials with the state Department of Transportation

said is a workable date.

Nelms met

with Harry West and Joel Stone of the ARC, along with

Fayette County Commission Chairman Harold Bost, Peachtree

City Mayor Bob Lenox and Coweta County administrator

Theron Gay.

Nelms

thanked everybody for working together to speed the

project up. Now that ARC officials are going to help

alleviate one of the biggest traffic headaches, county

and ARC officials can focus their efforts on some of the

other projects.

ARC

officials estimate the cost of the widening at nearly $24

million.

Other major

projects in the ARC proposal include:

- The

building of the Newnan bypass from Hwy. 34 to U.S. 29.

-

Widening of the bridge at Ga. Highway 54 and Line Creek

from two to four lanes.