Politics & Government
Region Leaders Agree on First TSPLOST List
Cobb County stands to get slightly more than $1 billion to split between 11 road, transit and airport projects.
Atlanta regional leaders agreed Monday on a $6.14 billion list of transportation projects across 10 counties to be paid for by a potential 1-cent regional sales tax.
It is a first draft and can be changed over the next two months. There will be several public hearings on the projects before a referendum is held in 2012. The proposed projects list is attached to this article.
A final draft of the list must be approved by Oct. 15.
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The 10-year tax is expected to raise $7.2 billion, of which $6.1 billion goes to the regional project list. The other $1.1 billion may be spent by counties and cities on transportation projects of their choosing.
Cobb County could get slightly more than $1 billion to split between 11 road, transit and airport projects, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
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The draft list contains $857 million in funding for a rail line connecting the Cumberland Mall area to Midtown.
The 12.8-mile line, which will initially cost about $1.2 billion and cost $9.6 million yearly to operate, would only have about one mile of track inside Cobb, according to the MDJ.
The list also calls for $26 million to build a four-lane divided highway between Terrell Mill Road and Windy Hill Road.
A new road from the Busbee Frey Connector to Frey Road costing $19 million is on the list as well.
McCollum Airport could receive a new $2.5 million air traffic control tower and $690,000 on runway lighting.
The draft list does not include Cobb’s proposed plan to improve the Windy Hill Road and Interstate 75 interchange. The county originally requested $120 million for the project, which would have a total cost of $125 million.
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