Folks in Fayetteville, Tyrone and Senoia will be seeing a big boost for certain downtown projects thanks to some considerable state assistance.

State Transportation Board member Sam Wellborn and Georgia DOT Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl recently announced the recipients of the Transportation Enhancement program funds for FY06 & FY07 for the 8th Congressional District.

The TE program is federally-funded and was originally established in 1991 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The program was continued by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users passed in the fall of 2005 and provided the program with further federal funding. The Georgia DOT’s Office of Planning manages the TE program in Georgia.

“As a Board member, I realize the importance of these types of enhancements projects to Georgians and the difference it makes in their traveling experience,” said Wellborn.

There are 12 eligible activities that can be funded by the TE program which include multiuse 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.

During the 2005 TE Call for Projects, the Georgia DOT received a total of 275 eligible applications representing combined requests statewide of over $220 million in federal funds from all 13 congressional districts by the September 23, 2005 deadline. In this selection round, $54.6 million in federal funds were available for Federal Fiscal Year 2006-07 to be distributed evenly statewide; $4.2 million was available for each congressional district for the two-year selection.

Up to 80 percent of the funds being used for these projects have been provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), with the local governments funding the remainder of the total project cost. Various legislators within the 8th Congressional District readily worked to obtain appropriate funding for much needed Transportation Enhancement projects in their areas.

The selected projects in the 8th Congressional District are:

• City of Fayetteville, Lee Street sidewalks, $500,000.
• Town of Tyrone, Handley Park multiuse paths, $191,360.
• City of Senoia, Main Street streetscape, $250,000.
• City of Douglasville, corridor lighting, banners and sidewalks, $500,000.
• City of Columbus, restoration and preservation of the Columbus Depot, $200,000.
• City of Columbus, Riverwalk at 13th Street bridge & 14th Street pedestrian bridge, $500,000.
• City of Whitesburg, streetscape project, $101,664.
• City of Villa Rica, connecting trails, $500,000.
• City of Thomaston, roadside rest area and pedestrian trail, $500,000.
• City of Columbus, Veterans Parkway streetscape improvements (Phase II), $1 million.

More information on the TE program is available at www.dot.state.ga.us/dot/plan-prog/planning/projects/te/index.shtml.

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