Friday, March 29, 2002
|
Friday, March 29, 2002 |
|
County working on last details for agreement with GRTA
By JOHN
THOMPSON
Fulton County officials are still ironing out the final details with the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to bring express buses to the county. The county stands to gain more than $24 million in federal highway funds if express buses are allowed to run down the county's highways. The county was one of the first counties to sign letters of intent to participate in the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's plan to start an express bus service in 13 counties in the Atlanta region. Fulton County Commission Chairman Mike Kenn's spokesman Michael Harris said the county is still in talks with GRTA officials this week to try and make sure all the details are worked out to allow the county to get its highway money. GRTA is offering $350 million in federal transportation funds to the region, money that will have to be borrowed against future federal grants because more than $8 billion in current funds are earmarked for other projects. Fulton's $24 million piece of that pie would be earmarked for arterial road improvements. For its part, Fulton County would have to pay nearly $2.5 million in operating costs for two years of the bus service. GRTA officials are starting to make more of their plans public, and South Fulton fits into their equation. The transportation superagency would most likely have an express bus stop near Fairburn that would shuttle workers to Hartsfield International Airport, where workers could connect to MARTA. GRTA is still working out final details of its proposal, and would possibly offer express bus service to other high employment areas in the region, officials said. The agreement between the counties, GRTA and the state Department of Transportation is supposed to be finalized by the end of this month. If the pact is approved by all agencies, South Fulton could see the express bus service start operating in the summer of 2003.
|
||