Atlanta Officials Eagerly Await Infrastructure Funds From $1.2 Trillion Federal Package

On Thursday, Dickens discussed the impact of the pending dollars at the Atlanta Department of Transportation’s North Avenue facility. He was joined by city transportation commissioner Josh Rowan and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat, who co-sponsored the bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in November.

Dickens said he hasn’t received an estimate for the city’s portion of funds, but Williams promised Atlanta will get its fair share of the money.

Williams said Georgia is receiving $12.3 billion, but additional funds are also set aside for the airport, MARTA, bridges, and efforts to support communities harmed by the creation of interstates years ago.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide $1.7 billion for improving Georgia’s bridges, Williams said. She said Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport will receive $92.5 million to maintain its efficiency. Additionally, she said $6 million will go to improving sewer systems in southeast Atlanta’s Lakewood Heights neighborhood.

“We all agree that rebuilding and repairing our bridges, our roads, as well as our water system, and of course our airport — the world’s busiest — is long overdue for Georgia and our city in particular,” Dickens said.

The package also allocates $1 billion for the national reconnecting neighborhoods program, which is designed to address the impact of the 1956 Federal Highway Act. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law to create the nation’s interstate highways, but it displaced millions of people, including residents in the Atlanta communities of Sweet Auburn, Summerhill, and West End.

“It’s a matter of racial justice that we get this done because far too often the communities divided were Black neighborhoods, and unfortunately, this was done intentionally,” said Williams, who sponsored the legislation that inspired the reconnecting neighborhoods program.

Rowan said the federal funds will also support job training opportunities for local residents who want to help renovate Atlanta streets and bridges.

That includes infrastructure like the heavily-used Marietta Road bridge, which is adjacent to the North Avenue facility. Rowan also said they want to renovate Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, which he described as “one of our most dangerous streets” in the city for the last three decades.

“So much good can come from this. Not just from repairing the infrastructure, but actually saving lives on our streets and providing opportunities for people in our neighborhoods,” Rowan said.

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