Historic "Paving the Way Home" Initiative to Fund Local Transportation Improvements

Historic “Paving the Way Home” Initiative to Fund Local Transportation Improvements

Governor's Budget Includes Record $234 Million for Local Road Projects

ATLANTA – Today Governor Sonny Perdue announced details of “Paving the Way Home,” a historic transportation funding initiative under which all 159 counties in Georgia will receive funds for high priority local transportation improvements.  Governor Perdue's budget recommendation includes a record $234 million over two years for Paving the Way Home.    

“One of Georgia 's greatest assets is its transportation infrastructure,” said Governor Sonny Perdue .  “We're investing a record amount of funding for local transportation projects, which will positively affect citizens' quality of life and Georgia 's ability to attract new business to the state.”

Paving the Way Home's $234 million budget is spread over two years - $117 million in the FY06 amended budget and $117 million in the FY07 budget.

The $234 million includes $120 million ($60 million each year) for the Local Assistance Road Program (LARP).  LARP funds will be used for resurfacing and deep patching projects, significantly reducing the time and resources local governments will have to spend to prepare roads for repaving.  Through Paving the Way Home, FY06 funding for LARP is increased by 58 percent over funding in FY05 (LARP was funded at $38 million in FY05).

Paving the Way Home also includes $68 million ($34 million in each year) for Off System and $46 million ($23 million in each year) for Most Needed programs.  The Off System and Most Needed programs, known as State Aid, support a wide a variety of projects including paving dirt roads, intersection improvements, resurfacing and reconstruction.  The Paving the Way Home initiative marks an increase of more than 900 percent in funding for State Aid over the $6.1 million allocated in FY05.

Each year Georgia counties prioritize their transportation improvement needs and submit a list to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to determine how much funding they will receive under LARP and State Aid.   Counties are currently submitting prioritized projects to GDOT, and the list of projects funded under the Paving the Way Home initiative will be announced in the next several weeks. 

There are approximately 117,000 miles of state and local roads across Georgia .  Local roads account for nearly 84 percent of the state's entire road system totaling approximately 99,000 miles.  An estimated 29,000 miles of local roads are unpaved and approximately 50 percent of the paved local roads (35,000 miles) are in need of repair or repaving.  Many local governments cannot afford the cost of upgrading or maintaining their roads.

            The Paving the Way Home initiative will be funded with motor fuel tax collections.  The FY05 motor fuel tax collection was $60 million higher than estimated, partially due to the increase in fuel prices in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  The total motor fuel tax collected in FY05 was $850.9 million.  Motor fuel collections are estimated at $809 million in FY07 .

In May 2004 Governor Perdue announced the Fast Forward transportation program, an aggressive plan investing $15.5 billion statewide over six years to relieve congestion and promote economic growth.  The Fast Forward plan is allowing Georgia to complete in six years work that would otherwise take 18 years to complete.

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