Cobb Officials Seek Congestion Relief on Northwest Corridor

Cobb Commission Chairman Tim Lee, Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews, State Senators Chip Rogers and Lindsey Tippins, and State Representative Earl Earhart want to alter the Metro Atlanta Regional Transportation Referendum project list by reducing funding for transit services and putting funding toward the managed reversible lanes on the county’s North/South interstate (also known as the Northwest Corridor I-75/575 P3 initiative).

Project TIA-CO-035 calls for enhanced transit services from North Cobb County to the MARTA Arts Center Station. It is the most expensive project on Cobb’s list at $689 million. It was originally the leading project in Cobb’s effort to combat growing traffic congestion along Interstate 75 and Interstate 575.

“When Cobb County went out into the community to determine which projects were the most important for our future, the I-75/575 P3 project was a done deal,” Lee said. “We would never have focused on the transit piece if we had known that the I-75/575 project was in jeopardy. The suspension of the I-75/575 project by the state is a substantial and material change caused by the state after the project list process ended. The state should afford us the opportunity to fix that in this list.”

In October, Cobb’s list of 15 projects was finalized by the regional roundtable. Then in December the state Department of Transportation's board determined that the concessionaire approach was not in the state’s best interest so they withdrew funding for the P3 which would have added capacity along I-75/575 through Cobb and into Cherokee County. The project funding was pulled.

“By combining the scope of the P3 and TIA initiatives we have the rare opportunity to relatively quickly alleviate our current massive traffic congestion on the 75/575 corridor in Cobb, Cherokee and Bartow counties and simultaneously expand future capacity on these major arteries to encourage economic growth while providing cost efficient lane access for express commuter bus service from Acworth to Atlanta,” said Tippins.

Lee, Mathews and members of the Cobb Legislative Delegation will be available for comment 3:30 p.m. today at the Capitol’s North grand staircase.

Funding the Transportation Investment Act project list is scheduled to be voted on by the public in July.

Do you believe the managed reversible lanes project for the county’s Northwest Corridor I-75/575 is the most important for our future? Is there a better use for transit funding? Share your opinion in the Comment Box below.