Augusta area drivers have until Saturday to figuratively blare their horns at The Georgia Department of Transportation.
(GDOT) put together a draft version of the 2027-2030 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
Now, GDOT needs your input.
The four-year plan outlines transportation and capital improvements. Projects are selected that review state and federal priorities, available funding, and technical analysis, among other factors.
That is where public input comes in.
“As they try to allocate their resources statewide, it’s vital for the citizens of east-central Georgia to tell them what is needed,” Cal Wray, president of the Augusta Economic Development Authority, explained for ABD. “You’re competing statewide for resources. So, you have to make our needs known, whether that’s retail traffic patterns, commercial traffic patterns, industrial traffic patterns, or residential traffic patterns.”
Wray said, ultimately, those decisions play a role in a region’s ability to attract new businesses, including large industrial facilities.
“They have to. They have to be able to get their products to their customers or to the port,” he said. “That’s the only way that they can do what they’re doing is to have reliable, efficient transportation paths.”
Wray believes metro Augusta is currently well-positioned in terms of an adequately developed road transportation system with Interstates 20 and 520, Mike Padgett Highway/Highway 56, Doug Barnard Parkway, and Washington Road among the main arteries.
However, what is adequate today does not address future needs.
You have to plan it out so that it’s actually accommodating the traffic patterns. You don’t want long backups. You don’t want traffic lights that back traffic up onto the roadways. If roads need to be expanded, GDOT needs to hear about that,” he detailed. “You have to plan for growth.”
Wray believes a decision made by Metro Augusta voters more than a decade ago puts the area in an enviable position for transportation projects.
In 2012, residents of GDOT District Two voted to approve the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). That is a one-percent sales tax collected to fund transportation improvements.
“I was in Dublin when that first TSPLOST happened. The Dublin region passed it, and the Augusta region passed it. That generates a few hundred million dollars a cycle to put in those infrastructure projects that are so essential,” he said.
It is also why Wray believes it is important for east-central Georgia to provide input to stay at the forefront in the 2027-2030 STIP.
“I think it’s very positive for us. I think we have good infrastructure in place. We are planning better on what needs to be upgraded and what needs to be put into place, and we have businesses located,” he said.
The STIP draft plan is available online. Its interactive mapping tool allows users to locate projects in their communities and to anticipate timelines. It is available at https://stip-gdot.hub.arcgis.com/.
The site also includes an online survey, allowing residents to submit comments and questions directly.
Comments regarding the STIP may also be sent to the Georgia DOT Planning Office at STIPCoordinator@dot.ga.gov.
The public comment period runs through August 15th.
Augusta also provides a website showing how TSPLOST funds have been spent and where. www.augustaga.gov/1920/Transportation-Investment-Act-of-2010-TI.
