Traffic Advisory: I 16 West Delays and Detour

Expect delays and a detour in Dublin on Interstate 16 West. Westbound lanes are closed as repairs continue on an overpass damaged by a tractor-trailer earlier this week. The Georgia Department of Transportation says bad weather prevented work crews from re-openng the two mile stretch of I-16 West yesterday.

(Associated Press)

House Committee Rejects Gov. Perdue's Transportation Plan

The House Transportation Committee today said "no" to a plan unveiled earlier this year by Governor Sonny Perdue for remaking transportation in Georgia.

When the Governor introduced Senate Bill 200, he said he wanted to dismantle the Georgia Department of Transportation, create a new state agency, realign transportation construction responsibilities and fold the DOT into the appropriations process.

The much leaner plan approved by the committee today does only the last. It ensures the DOT, like every other state agency, must face the General Assemby when budget time rolls around. But the bill, among other things, keeps the existing DOT in place as lead transportation construction agency and keeps GRTA and SERTA operating.

Republican Representative David Ralston describes the measure approved today as a balance between the two legislative bodies.

"I think what it does is allow us to reach a compromise on a bill we can get passed. And it still retains the ability for the General Assembly to appropriate funds."

In previous committee meetings, some House members expressed concern that the original bill stripped the General Assembly of its power to elect board members.

But amendments made today keep that procedure in place.

"There was some concern amongst some members about doing that, I think. And some people were a little reluctant to do that and create a new authority and create a board having that relationship," says Ralston.

The measure will make its way back to the Senate where members will likely disagree with the changes. That will force the bill into a conference committee, where lawmakers from both chambers will try to hash out their differences.

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DOT Holds Public Meetings On I-85 Toll Lane Plan

The Department of Transportation wants to know if people will pay for an easier route through traffic. To that end, transportation officials kick-off public meetings this week on a plan to convert carpool lanes on Interstate-85 in Gwinnett County to toll lanes.

The meetings begin Thursday at 5 p.m. at Gwinnett’s Civic Center. In all, there will be five meetings total held along the I-85 corridor. Hearings will follow in Dacula, Chamblee, Norcross and Lawrenceville.

Atlanta-Area Cyclists Hit The Road For Bike Trails

(Courtesy MAMA)

Hundreds of bicyclists, led by dozens of metro Atlanta mayors and officials, rolled into town and up the steps of the Capitol on Monday. All part of a grassroots gathering to improve bicycling conditions in Georgia.

Scores of police motorcycles escorted upwards of 1,000 cyclists, from school kids to seniors in the fourth-annual “Georgia Rides To The Capitol” event.

Bicyclist Mike Laurie lives in Grant Park, and joined riders from as far as Covington and McDonough, Roswell and Decatur:

"It's a nice turnout today! It's nice seeing people you normally see on your daily commute on your bike - you see them all riding together at the same time in one place - and I think it's a great sight."

They rode everything from clunky newspaper delivery bikes, to state-of-the-art road bikes weighing less than ten pounds, and costing more than some cars.

The event was co-sponsored by the Metropolitan Atlanta Mayors Association.

The message delivered at the Capitol steps was as simple as, well, falling off a bike: To rally support for a better, safer bicycle network across the state.

Legislators (in blue windbreakers) and biking enthusiasts addressed the group of close to 1,000 bicyclists at the state Capitol in Atlanta, on Monday, Mar. 3, 2009 (Photo: Dave Bender)

Mike Thomas, Division Director of Field Services at the Georgia Department of Transportation told the group that his office supports that aim:

"We presently in Georgia have 768 miles of signed bicycle routes; we also have 158 miles of multi-use trails, which we hope to be increasing as different projects come forth…(applause)."

Dekalb’s 83rd District Representative, Democrat Mary Margaret Oliver, says despite severe state budget cutbacks – such projects can get federal funding:

"The federal transportation statutes have some mandatory minimums for alternative transportation, so, even when everything is cutback, there’s still some money available for bike paths. We also have a lot of philanthropy going on in Atlanta, that’s promoting greenspace and bike paths – the beltline as an example."

But funding might not be easy to come by. As bikers mingled outside, inside the Capitol lawmakers passed HB 277.

(Courtesy MAMA)

The bill is a state penny sales-tax for transportation, with no provision for bike trails or alternate transportation options.

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State Senate Leaders Push DOT Overhaul

State Senate leaders Monday revealed a plan that would virtually gut Georgia's Department of Transportation. The proposal announced by Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers strips all but oversight responsibility from the DOT Board and from DOT Commissioner Gena Evans. However, Rogers was quick to point out that the measure is not so much a slap in the face to the DOT. Instead he says, it's a recognition that the massive job at hand to solve Georgia's transportation issues may be too much for the department to handle:

"The transportation process in Georgia for delivering transportation projects is broken...Georgians deserve better. We spend billions of dollars on transportation, but we're not solving the problem. We're not laying all this at the feet of the DOT...that's not what this is all about."

In the proposal, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and State Road and Tollway Authority would fall into a newly-created entity--the State Transportation Authority.

Georgia DOT would retain inspection and maintenance responsibilities, but much of the road building could be awarded to private companies.

State Leaders Consider Combining Two Transportation Organizations

State leaders are considering a plan that would combine the State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority into a new entity. It would create long and short-term statewide transportation plans.

Members would be appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House.

This would completely scrap the responsibilities of the Georgia Department of Transportation Board. They are currently responsible for handling the state’s $2 billion annual transportation budget.

(AP)

GDOT puts major Macon project on hold

Atlanta's 14th Street bridge under construction, crossing Interstate 75. (Dave Bender/file)

Georgia’s Department of Transportation is putting a major Bibb County highway project on hold. The DOT has a shrinking budget.

That's why the department put the planned interchange at Interstate 75 and 16 in Macon back on the shelf. DOT spokesman David Spears says it could sit there upwards of a decade:

“Principally and primarily, of course, it’s about funding; that’s in excess of a $320 million dollar project, and we’ve been working on it 20 years and we need to get it built, but we just don’t have $320 million dollars that we can apply to it right now.”

Macon officials expressed disappointment over the decision, but say there are smaller projects that could be dealt with before 2018.

State Transportation officials told the Federal Highway Administration that Georgia has a number of projects they’d want included in any potential economic stimulus package by the incoming Obama Administration.

“We have identified – just of our own projects within the department – about $2.2 billion dollars worth of work have begun, “shovel-ready,” so to speak, by sometime in the middle of next year,” Spears says.

Spears says adding in other state transportation-related projects including aviation, MARTA, and commuter rail could bring the total to almost three and a half billion dollars.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia transportation issues

Audit finds flaws in GDOT

GDOT Commissioner Gena Evans explains a point in the draft budget proposal to reporters after a transportation board session that also dealt with major budget overruns, on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (Dave Bender)

A state audit of Georgia's transportation department found that the agency used flawed accounting procedures when assessing its budget.

The audit found the Georgia Department of Transportation used two different accounting standards to draft its ledger. It also found some 15 misstatements throughout the ledger because of the use of two different standards.

The agency said it concurred with many of the findings and that it is already implementing procedures to fix the problems.

Click here for recent GPB News coverage about GDOT.

(AP)

GDOT cuts road repairs, instead of jobs

TV monitor at budget hearings showing page of proposed 2009 draft budget, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Evans today laid out proposals for recouping her department’s $456 million dollar deficit – in part.

GDOT has to cut that sum from the 2009 fiscal year, to make up for that sum in the '08 budget.

GDOT Commissioner Gena Evans holds up a folder containing the 2009 budget, at a meeting with the transportation board on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 where she put forth budget-cutting proposals. (Dave Bender)

Among the tough proposals Evans offered the board was slashing over 500 jobs – a road not taken by the transportation board:

“Oh, we’re ecstatic. We’re really thrilled. I mean, to me, every time you saw a list from us, the last thing we wanted to do was lay off employees. It’s a very difficulty decision for the board between those state aid projects, that are local, community-driven projects versus laying off employees.”

Evans explains a point in the draft budget proposal to reporters after the GDOT transportation board session on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Evans says a one-day employee furlough program was also ruled out.

GDOT spokesman David Spears, however, says the Local Assistance Road Program (LARP), which funds local and county road repairs, including pot holes, was among the major cutbacks the board agreed to:

“It’s a total of 52 million dollars that we’ll be unable to distribute to local governments in the coming year. We’re hoping we’re going to be able to identify new funding sources or new savings as we go from month to month in our budget process, and be able to redirect some of that money back into local assistance.”

Evans faced tough questioning from the board members during the morning session, including issues of protocol.

Board Member Dana Lemon, who represents the 13th Congressional District, chided Evans over forwarding the draft directly to the Office of Planning and Budget, without the board getting a look at it first:

Evans: “Ms. Lemon, I’m not sure when we would have possibly been able to get any more information…”

Lemon: “Gina, we get inundated all the time with stuff from you guys, so we could have seen it; we might not have been able to address it at a meeting, but we all could have at least looked at it, reviewed it…”

Officials say that rocky interchange is but a verbal example of the bumpy road drivers can expect on Georgia’s highways and interchanges in the coming fiscal year.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of GDOT and other transportation issues.

GDOT planning Atlanta HOV lane fees

The Georgia Department of Transportation is considering a tiered pay program for Atlanta’s 44-miles of interstate High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

GDOT spokesperson Ericka Davis says the program would allow large car pools to ride the lanes for free, but would likely charge smaller carpools and single vehicles.

The fees would be used to pay for the system, and fund mass-transit projects.

GDOT officials recently returned from a visit to Texas to examine similar programs in that state, and is currently "in the middle of working out the logistics" of the plan, Davis said.

Davis said the plan would cost upwards of $470 million dollars.

GDOT Commissioner Gena Evans and officials from the Governor's Office also met with U.S. DOT Secretary Mary Peters to discuss the plan, Davis added.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia transportation issues.

Moving Georgians: a look ahead

Georgians will be able to tell state officials what they want in public transportation next week. The plan's dubbed the Investing in Tomorrow’s Transportation Today initiative (IT3).

Officials say they want to hear what Georgians want in public transportation. They say they'll use that input to set strategic policies, and create a business model for the future.

The public is invited to a week-long series of meetings starting September 22. They'll be held in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Macon, Savannah and Valdosta.

Officials on-hand for the series of public forums will include DOT commissioner Gena Abraham, department board members, and local officials to the particular area.

Ericka Davis of the Department of Transportation says the forums will be one-stop shopping for residents to give their opinions:

"That’s an opportunity for them to be in one spot and the key decision-makers on the transportation plan for Georgia will be right there listening to what they have to say."

The legislature failed to pass a transportation plan this past session. That was after a group of legislators held similar hearings around the state last year.

Lawmakers are expected to try again come January.

More information is available at http://www.it3.ga.gov.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of state transportation and infrastructure issues.

DOT romance leads to marriage

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham married former DOT board chairman Mike Evans over the weekend. Abraham took the name of her new husband, and now goes by Gena Evans. The couple wed at her vacation home on Lake Martin in Alabama.

Controversy was sparked earlier this year when word of their romance was revealed at a department board meeting in April. Because DOT policy prohibits intimate relationships within the chain of command, Mike Evans resigned his chairman post. The former Gena Abraham was reprimanded by the board for failing to report her relationship sooner.

The wedding Saturday was attended by about 50 family members and close friends. Governor Sonny Perdue also attended, and officiated the ceremony along with an Alabama circuit court judge.

State DOT reassigns treasurer

The state Department of Transportation board has voted to reassign its longtime treasurer. This comes as the Department continues to clean-up its books in addressing a 1.2 billion dollar deficit.

DOT officials say the re-assignment of Earl Mahfuz to assistant treasurer is not a demotion, but simply part of a long-term plan to address an expected run of senior staff retirements in the next few years. Mahfuz is within 18 months of reaching 30 years of state service.

But the move does come as the DOT has spent the past month going through its books to correct what a state audit report called "material weaknesses" in its accounting.

The DOT’s David Spear says the process has yielded good results:

"The good news relative to the deficit is that we’re whittling it down day-by-day taking steps to get our fiscal ’08 books balanced"

Spear says the deficit is now down to only 6 to 7 million dollars, down from 1.2 billion. But, he says going forward into the fiscal '09 year, the DOT's budget may only be half of its previous 2-billion dollar amount.

Spear also says that while he understands why Georgia taxpayers might have skepticism over the DOT's operations in recent years, that will change in the near future:

"I’m sure we’ve shaken their trust over the last few months in the department. I think what they’re going to see going forward through this transition which is a painful one...I think they’re going to see a department that is more responsive, is more responsible and will be focusing on the things that really do yield the most benefit".

Evans' replacement on DOT board to be selected

State lawmakers out of the 9th Congressional District will get together this afternoon at the State Capitol to select a new member for the Department of Transportation board. The person elected will replace Mike Evans of Cumming, who resigned his post as chairman of the DOT when he revealed his personal relationship with DOT commissioner Gena Abraham. The 9th congressional district includes much of northeast Georgia.

Columbus gas prices lead state

Columbus leads the state in the unenviable position of having the highest gas prices across Georgia, according the AAA's fuelgaugereport.

The average price-per-gallon for gas is averaging:

• Unleaded regular: $3.775
• Mid-price: $4.059
• Premium: $4.239
• Diesel: $4.399

Nationwide, the current average prices are:

• Unleaded regular: $3.758
• Mid-price: $3.990
• Premium: $4.134
• Diesel: $4.419

DOT board reprimands Commissioner for romance

The state board of transportation took up the issue of Commissioner Gena
Abraham's future today. Over the last month, her friendship with then board
chair Mike Evans became romantic. Evans resigned last week. It's
against DOT rules for employees to be romantically involved with their
superiors.

Board member Dana Lemon called for Abraham's resignation. However,
fellow board member Larry Walker had another idea.

He wanted Abaraham to remain in her position, but receive a written reprimand for
not informing the board in a timely manner.
By a vote of 8-to-3, the board sided with Walker.

The board still has to decide exactly what the reprimand letter will
say.

In other DOT news. The board will need to choose a new chair. Vice chair Garland Pinholster,
who had stepped in for Evans, resigned amid allegations he sexually
harassed 2 DOT staffers.

DOT decides fate of commissioner's position

The Department of Transportation will meet today to discuss the fate of Commissioner Gena Abraham’s position. The full board will determine whether Abraham retains the credibility of carrying out her reforms in the office after she had an unethical relationship with the recently-resigned chairman Mike Evans.

After meeting with Abraham Governor Perdue said she should keep her job. Besides that he said you can’t control love. "There's no light switch in relationships that comes on that comes on one day. It's not like that. When you work with somebody, you develop a mutual respect that comes from admiration and then it develops into deeper feelings than that."

Perdue said that she’s resolved to carry through with her reforms for the DOT.

Most board members agree with her course of reform.

Georgia DOT faces audit

The Georgia Department of Transportation faces an audit. Officials say the state has promised about a billion dollars more in transportation contracts than it can afford.

The miscalculation is likely to halt some road projects.

Transportation dollars haven’t kept up with metro-Atlanta’s population growth, and business leaders are concerned this will discourage businesses from locating in Georgia.

State DOT employee arrested on fraud charges

A Georgia Department of Transportation employee is one of six arrested on fraud charges. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says 21-year-old Dnez Bracy used identities of 55 people who bought permits from the DOT to steal 20-thousand dollars. Bracy was fired from her job as a clerk in the DOT's permits office, where she had worked since April of last year.

DOT employee out after false bridge reports

The state Department of Transportation says it will re-inspect 54 bridges that an employee says he and his partner filed inspection reports on, but never visited. That longtime employee of the department has now resigned his job. DOT chief Gena Abraham says David Simmons’ falsified reports began showing up last fall. The DOT says it has no reason to believe the bridges are unsafe, but will check to make sure. Simmons has been with the DOT for 29 years.