Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Transportation funds coming to Fayette Fayette County residents will begin to notice some transportation improvements, thanks to the federal government’s Transportation Enhancement program. The program is federally funded and was established in 1991 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The program was continued by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century in 1998. The Georgia DOT’s Planning Office manages the TE program in Georgia. Fayette projects include $320,800 for Handley Park to Anthony Drive east of the Tyrone Connector; $167,840 for Ga. Highway 54 East landscape enhancements in Peachtree City (phase 4); and $500,000 for Grady Avenue Trail and Stonewall/Booker sidewalks. The TE program’s goal is to enrich the transportation experience of Georgians through specific types of enhancement projects.ÊThe kinds of projects funded by the TE program include multi-use facilities such as walking and biking trails and paths; streetscaping and landscaping projects in cities and towns; historic preservation of transportation-related facilities like railroad depots; and scenic preservation of views and scenic byways. Ê This year, the Georgia DOT received a total of 338 eligible applications representing combined requests for over $218 million in federal funds from all 13 congressional districts. In this selection round, $52 million in federal funds were available for Federal Fiscal Year 2004-05 to distribute statewide. From the original 338 applications submitted, 127 have been chosen to receive funding. Up to 80 percent of the funds being used for these projects have been provided by the Federal Highway Administration, with the local government funding the remainder of the total project cost. The local government project sponsor is responsible for implementing the TE project and obtaining federal reimbursement from Georgia DOT.