Georgia announces $238.8M for transportation projects in May

(The Center Square) — State transportation officials said they awarded 15 projects totaling $238.8 million in May 2024.

The largest project is roughly $122 million to widen and reconstruct six miles of State Route 20 in Forsyth County from Post Road to east of North Corners Parkway. With the May projects announced, transportation officials said the state has awarded $2.4 billion in construction contracts for fiscal 2024.

Concurrently, a new report card evaluating the state's infrastructure gave a less-than-glowing review.

Georgia's Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a committee of more than 50 civil engineers, gave the Peach State a C-plus. The group volunteered their time to collect and analyze data, prepare and review their findings and present their conclusions.

"Improvements occurred in several areas in recent years," the group said in its analysis. "Georgia's transportation system mostly progressed, thanks to projects completed with improved state funding from major legislation in 2012 and 2015.

"...Despite this progress, new threats have arrived, and old challenges persist," the group added. "Atlanta is the 10th most congested city in the United States. State funding in Georgia accounts for less than 2% of total public transit funding and transit costs are outpacing transit revenue. Statewide drinking water investment needs were estimated to be $19.7 billion in 2023, up from $12.5 billion in 2018."

A Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson did not provide a response to the ASCE ranking. Interestingly, CNBC ranked Georgia as the best in the country for its infrastructure as part of its 2024 America's Top States for Business ranking.

The $66.8 billion fiscal 2025 budget, which Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed earlier this year, includes roughly $4.2 billion for the Department of Transportation, including nearly $2.4 billion in state money.