One of the most pressing issues we face in Cherokee County is traffic. Widening projects and road improvements are certainly part of the solution, but how would we pay for such projects? To assist in answering this question, the State Legislature passed legislation creating the Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding.
The Committee is comprised of members of the State Legislature, the director of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, and the Georgia Municipal Association. In the first meeting, Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) Commissioner Keith Golden outlined some of the challenges and opportunities before us as we work to improve Georgia's transportation system.
One of the challenges discussed was the scope of our state's transportation infrastructure. Georgia has the 10th-largest road system in the nation, with more than 120,000 miles of roadways. We also house more than 14,000 bridges, the fourth-busiest container port in the nation (on pace to become even busier), and the world's busiest airport. Keeping our infrastructure in good working order is an extremely expensive endeavor. GDOT spends roughly $200 million, or 20 percent of its budgeted state funds, on maintenance projects.
Another issue we looked at was our reliance on federal funding for transportation projects. Currently, more than half of the State transportation budget comes from federal funding, which relies on the insolvent Highway Trust Fund. GDOT has been successful in pursuing federal dollars, bringing in $1.19 for every $1 we send to Washington for transportation. Nevertheless, due to the volatility at the federal level, we need to look for ways to better use our existing funds and reduce our reliance on federal funding to sustain and improve our transportation system.
One of the places that we excel over other states is fiscal responsibility. We are doing more with less; our 4 percent State Gas Tax is among the lowest in the nation. In addition to having a comparatively small transportation related debt ($2.2 billion), we manage to service our debt at a much higher rate than neighboring states.
Commissioner Golden discussed projects that are in the pipeline to help improve our transportation system. Chief among those are projects to reduce congestion in and around metro Atlanta. Among these is the Northwest Corridor that will improve traffic flow along I-75 and I-575 in Cherokee and Cobb counties. We also discussed an interchange between I-285 and SR-400, redesigns of the interchanges for I-285 at I-20, widening I-85 outside of the city, improvements to I-285, and completion of the Governor's Road Improvement Program.
The Committee will hold meetings across the state over the next couple of months and release its recommendations by November 30. One of the primary issues the Committee is addressing is reducing congestion here in metro Atlanta. The Committee recognizes that maintaining and improving our transportation infrastructure cannot be achieved without looking at our state as a whole. As the Committee meets and develops its recommendations, we are working to foster growth in our state while at the same time being good stewards of public funds.
to your business!