GDOT Announces Transportation Enhancement Funding Awards

ATLANTA - State Transportation Board member W.P. "Billy" Langdale and Georgia DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham have announced the recipients of the Transportation Enhancement (TE) program funds for FY08 & FY09 for the Second Congressional District.

The TE program is federallyfunded and was originally established in 1991 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The program was continued by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. The Georgia DOT's Planning Officemanages the TE program in Georgia.

"These projects are a real blessing to their communities," Langdale said. "Having these old depots and historic downtowns restored to beauty it is a real benefit to the people who live and work there."

The TE program's goal is to enrich the transportation experience of Georgians through specific types of enhancement projects. The kinds of projects funded by the TE program include multi-use facilities such as walking and biking trails and paths; street-scaping and landscaping projects in cities and towns; historic preservation of transportation-related facilities like railroad depots; and scenic preservation of views and scenic byways.

This year, the Georgia DOT received a total of 285 eligible applications representing combined requests for more than $176 million in federal funds from all 13 congressional districts. In this selection round, $54.6 million in federal funds are available for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009 for distribution statewide.

Up to 80 percent of the funds being used for these projects have been provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 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.

To aid in the project selection, the Georgia DOT relies on an extensive in-house technical review and the Transportation Enhancement Advisory Panel, which was formed in 1992. The advisory panel group of professionals, representing state-wide expertise in the various TE project categories, evaluated each application and forwarded its recommendations to the State Transportation Board for final selection of the funded projects.

Some selected projects in the Second Congressional District are as follows:

·$500,000 to the City of Blakely in Early County for the Gateway Project to create an aesthetically pleasing entrance into the city at the intersection of US 27 and Magnolia Street.

·$300,000 to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Early County for improvements to Model Park including an audio/visual room, extending the interpretive trail, building a new access to the top of the temple mound and developing new interpretive materials for visitors,

·$400,000 to the City of Colquitt in Miller County for the addition of approximately 1.5 miles of pedestrian sidewalks and approximately 2.5 miles of a dedicated walking lane along Milford Street and Phillipsburg Road,

More information on the TE program and applications are available on the Georgia DOT Web site. --- http://www.dot. state.ga.us/dot/plan-prog/planning/ projects/te/index.shtml