by T.A. DeFeo
The feds are sending Georgia more than $1.8 billion for fiscal 2024 for a slate of infrastructure projects, a federal lawmaker said.
The money is part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“That means upgraded roads, highways and bridges, upgraded both so that they can sustain more use with less congestion and with more safety for passengers and families who are using that infrastructure,” U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, said during a media conference.
“This means improvements in air quality across our state,” Ossoff added. “This means railroad crossing elimination projects to ensure that families, ambulances, emergency personnel who need swiftly to get to a hospital are less likely to be blocked for hours at a congested railway crossing. This is a big win for the state of Georgia.”
According to Ossoff’s office, the laundry list of funding includes $224 million, including a $40 million grant, for Concourse D improvements at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; $113 million for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Interstate 285/Georgia Highway 400 interchange project; and $19.3 million for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to buy electric buses and charging equipment.
Local jurisdictions will also see millions in federal funding. Among the projects, Atlanta will receive $30 million for street safety improvements, while Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties will see $56.8 million for highway safety projects.
The feds included $12.2 million for a 185-mile fiber route in eight northwest Georgia counties between Chattanooga, Tennessee; Bremen; and Atlanta. An additional $2.5 million will go toward cleaning hazardous materials from the old Chattahoochee Brick Company site along the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, a brick-making factory from 1878 to 2010.
A GDOT spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on funding flowing to the state agency.
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T.A. DeFeo is a regular contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Sen. Jon Ossoff” by Sen. Jon Ossoff.
