Cobb and Gwinnett receive millions for transit improvements
Cobb and Gwinnett Counties are set to receive $18.5 million for transit improvements courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced Thursday.
Cobb Community Transit (CCT) will use $9.1 million to fund the rehabilitation, renovation, and construction of a maintenance facility to expand the transit system’s multi-use transit facility as well as preventive maintenance, engineering and design, and management of paratransit services.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners will use $9.4 million to purchase two new replacement buses and to rehabilitate and rebuild 28, 40-foot compressed natural gas buses. Gwinnett will also use the funds to make security and transit enhancements, such as construction of pedestrian access and walkways.
“By quickly moving federal dollars to the cities and towns across the country, we are putting people back to work now and ensuring that our nation will have reliable and efficient transit system for generations to come,” LaHood said.
“These funds are creating jobs now while investing in the future of our transit systems,” Administrator Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) said. “The public’s demand for transit service continues to grow, and these dollars will help meet that need.”
The Department of Transportation has made available 343 grants worth $3.2 billion for transit projects across the nation since Feb. 17.
Georgia will eventually receive $932 million for highway projects but only $135.3 million for public transportation projects. Creative Loafing wisely pointed out Thursday that public transit will receive only $1 in stimulus for every $7 highways receive.
The New York Times conducted some research of ARRA Thursday and found “the 100 largest metropolitan areas are getting less than half the money from the biggest pot of transportation stimulus money.” Read the Times report here.