The chairman of the state Department of Transportation board says that's inevitable after DOT came up $7.7 billion short last year, "well, we are definitely going to add to it...and, I suspect it could go well over eight billion."
Mike Evans commented during an appearance on Sunday's Northeast Georgia This Week on WDUN NEWS TALK 550, like AccessNorthGa.com, a division of Jacobs Media Corp.
Evans took office last summer just in time to learn of a seven million dollar shortfall. He adds that he doesn't foresee that projects pushed to the back burner last year moving to forefront again anytime soon.
"Until we get a better handle on how much money is coming in, I don't see that happening."
Of the major road projects in Hall County right now, Evans said all are either on schedule or ahead of schedule. They include the reconstruction of Exit 16 on I-985 at Oakwood, which Evans says is about 25 percent complete, and the widening of Dawsonville Highway, where about two-thirds of the project remains to be finished.
Evans said even though hearings are planned this week on widening Browns Bridge Road from Gainesville to Cumming, that work is far into the future - way down the line. It will, by necessity, require the construction of a second bridge over Lake Lanier.
Asked about the future of commuter rail services in Georgia, if there's any realistic chance of it becoming a reality anytime soon, Evans said the "Brain Train," which would connect Athens with Atlanta via Barrow and Gwinnett counties "seems to have the most political muscle behind" and strong support from the public. However, he remains skeptical about the Lovejoy-Macon line.
"I've been an opponent of that line since I was first elected to the board," he said. "The numbers don't come close to making sense."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/3/92686