After a postponed July 10 vote, the Atlanta Regional Commission Board held a special meeting to approve the 2024 population estimates, metropolitan planning organization boundaries and an amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program.
The Transportation Improvement Program is a document that maps out the region’s transportation projects through 2050. The amendment approved on August 28 adds $265.4 million in funding to 45 new and existing projects across the region.
An amendment is required anytime project costs increase by more than $2 million. Locally, funds will decrease by $93.5 million, but with a $1.7 million increase in state funding and the federal payout, the region will see a total funding increase of $173.6 million.
Of the 45 projects, 12 are existing, and 33 are new. The amendment will fund major developments like the Flint River Corridor in South Fulton and Clayton County, which will connect the river corridor to the BeltLine through multi-use trails. The $65 million in federal funding will come without any need for a local match.
Other projects like “The Stitch,” an ongoing plan to “cap” a chunk of I-75-85 in Downtown Atlanta by 2050, saw an influx of funds for early development stages. Phase one is set to begin construction in 2026 or 2027 and will include a 4.5-acre park over the Downtown Connector.
Phase one received $146 million in funding through the US Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant funding, with an additional $5 million in congressionally directed spending for preliminary engineering.
The amendment also provides an influx of funds to other projects like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure projects in Cherokee and Coweta County, which received an additional $2 million. Gwinnett County’s transit fleet also received $2.55 million in congressionally directed spending to improve RideGwinnett amenities.
During the short meeting, the board cast official votes on the previously discussed population estimates. The Metro Atlanta population added 62,700 residents in the past year, racking up a total population of 5.2 million across the 11-county area.
ARC leaders have previously said it’s a time of “steady, consistent growth” for the region, compared to population explosions in the 1990s.
Alongside a short list of voting matters, the ARC board announced upcoming travel impacts that will hit the area on Sept. 29. On that Sunday, 340 patients will be moved from the Children’s Egleston Hospital and 30 from the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center to the new Arthur Blank Hospital off I-85.
“Many of the patients have very serious illnesses that require life equipment to be with them as they move, so this is a very important logistics challenge that the city and police departments have been coordinating on for nearly two years,” Transportation Coordinating Committee Chair John Orr said.
Orr said drivers should expect rolling roadblocks at certain times, with notable impacts on North Decatur Road, Dunwoody Road, Peachtree Street and Georgia 400. He said it’s important to know Sept. 29 will be a “very challenging day.”
