The Atlanta Department of Transportation is receiving a major funding boost after Atlanta City Council voted last week to infuse $12 million into the city’s street projects.
Atlanta City Councilman Dustin Hillis sponsored an ordinance to transfer $3 million from the city’s reserves and $9 million in interest income from Atlanta’s 2015 General Obligation Public Improvement Infrastructure Series bond proceeds to increase ATLDOT’s budget for fiscal year 2024, which began July 1.
The city is planning to use those dollars for resurfacing and safety improvements throughout all 12 council districts in the city, according to the mayor’s office.
According to the ordinance, the new dollars will also address lane width reductions, infrastructure repairs, sidewalk upgrades, and crosswalk enhancements to make Atlanta more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Hillis said the goal is to identify $1 million in projects across each city council district.
“With the passage of this legislation, the City Council has funded more resurfacing projects this fiscal year than it has in over a decade,” Hillis said in a statement.
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Hillis said during the council’s June 28 transportation committee meeting that resurfacing did not occur in the city for two years during the Bottoms administration, so he’s happy the city is addressing it now.
A map of the city’s roadwork list is available on ALTDOT’s website. Atlanta Chief Financial Officer Mohamed Balla said ALTDOT and the council will have to identify projects by Sept. 30.
City Councilman and Transportation Chair Amir Farokhi lauded the city for creating an “equitable” plan that benefits every district. That said, he asked the administration to get a sense of where Atlanta has the highest need for repaving based on road use.
Incidentally, the new funding also comes after the council raised a stink in May over the mayor’s proposed $7.1 million decline in ATLDOT’s budget. At the time, Balla and ATLDOT Commissioner Solomon Caviness told the council that Atlanta would still be able to improve the city’s roads using a combination of the proposed budget and Atlanta’s capital improvement revenues.
On Wednesday, Mayor Dickens said in a statement that the additional funding will help complete existing projects while equitably delivering results for residents.
“Resurfacing makes everybody happy,” Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet said. “I think we should have velvet streets for everyone...or suede streets, whatever your preference.”
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