NORTH FULTON CID BOARD LEARNS OF GEORGIA DOT “P3” PROGRAM

The first wave of public-private partnerships for transportation being considered by Georgia will include more “managed lanes” and transit opportunities, the North Fulton Community Improvement District (CID) board learned at its June meeting. The Georgia Department of Transportation’s chief engineer, Gerald Ross, gave an overview of the state’s Public Private Partnership (P3) program at the CID’s June board meeting.

P3 is Georgia DOT’s newest initiative to address mobility through innovative measures. It also will help address the state’s significant funding shortfall, Ross said. “The P3 program uses private investors’ money to help build public transportation projects. These are 1- to 2-billion dollar projects, with 50- to 99-year leases. The investments required means tolling, but they also mean more transportation choices.”

P3 creates a framework that makes these large projects possible, accelerates their delivery and brings additional transportation options to the traveling public. P3 also allows the DOT to better leverage the limited resources it has for major transportation projects.

“The West by Northwest P3 project will be the first in the state,” Ross told the CID board. “It will add reversible managed lanes to portions of I-75 and I-575, north of I-285. It will also bundle pre-development work to extend those managed lanes along portions of I-285 and I-20 to the west of the city.”

The P3 program will mean more jobs for Georgians, according to CID Executive Director and State Transportation Board Member Brandon Beach. “With the P3 program, Georgia DOT can afford to build large projects that will help our state’s infrastructure and put our state’s people to work,” Beach said.

For more information on Georgia DOT’s P3 program, visit www.georgiap3.com.