Activists Block 44 Road Projects

A settlement between the Department of Transportation, Georgia transportation officials and environmental groups will cut off funding for 44 of the 61 road improvement projects in the Atlanta area.

The blocked construction includes work on interchanges of Interstates 20, 75 and 285 as well as numerous state highways and local roads.

Environmental groups argued that the 61 projects, with a value of $700 million, should be halted because they began after Atlanta fell out of compliance with air quality standards. The government contended that federal funding should be allowed to go forward because planning and preliminary construction had been started.

The Sierra Club, Georgia Conservancy and Georgians for Transportation Alternatives sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in January to stop federal funding for Atlanta-area transportation construction until it came into compliance with federal environmental laws (5-31, p. 24).

The case was affected by a separate federal appeals court decision in Washington, D.C., in March, when judges ruled that such “grandfathering” was illegal.

The settlement allows spending of about $125 million for 17 road projects under construction to proceed, but cuts off funding for the rest until an EPA-approved plan shows how the projects will improve air quality is in place.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said DOT looked forward to working with all parties to create the necessary transportation plan. He said the “new transportation program must strike a balance between the need for new projects necessary to increase mobility and promote economic growth, and the necessity for solutions to air quality, traffic congestion and other environmental concerns.”

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