Governor Nathan Deal and the Georgia Department of Transportation have released a comprehensive infrastructure maintenance plan that will be completed using funds from the Transportation Funding Act (HB 170) passed during the 2015 legislative session. Prior to the passage of HB 170, Georgia had amassed a significant maintenance backlog and was operating on a nearly 50 year road replacement cycle. Yesterday's announcement includes a $2.2 billion near term project list over the next 18-months and a 10 year long term project list that allocates more than $10 billion. GDOT Commissioner, Russell McMurry, noted that the $2.2 billion near term project list will “resurface nearly 2,500 miles of roads, replace more than 100 bridges, and provide critical rehabilitation to more than 300 bridges." Every $1 invested in these maintenance projects is expected to return $4 back to Georgia taxpayers.
As part of this substantial infrastructure investment, Governor Deal also highlighted a new website, garoads.org, which provides transparency in to transportation spending and progress. At this site, visitors can view the maintenance projects expected to be completed over the next 18 months and review the state's transportation plan for the next 10 years.
