Tag Archives: TIP

Why are federal Interstate projects on the T-SPLOST list?

Why are any I-75 interchange projects on the final T-SPLOST list? Especially now that Congress finally got around to passing a transportation bill? I-75 is a federal highway; shouldn’t it be paid for with federal tax dollars, not $31.5 million of “local” sales taxes?

About the transportation act, and then three T-SPLOST I-75 projects. Richard Simon reported for the Sacramento Bee 29 June 2012, Congress passes transportation bill, halts student loan rate increase. Jamie Dupree’s Washington Insider had some more detail in the AJC 28 June 2012, Congress moves highway, student loan bills. Here’s the actual H.R.4348 — MAP-21 (Enrolled Bill [Final as Passed Both House and Senate] – ENR).

In the final T-SPLOST District 11 report there are still two I-75 interchange projects:

  • $19,872,610 TIA for RC11-000081 I-75 at CR 27/Lake Park-Bellville Road Interchange Improvements – Exit 2
  • $11,631,517 TIA for RC11-000082 I-75 at SR 31 Interchange Replacement – Exit 11
  • $31,504,127 total TIA for two I-75 interchange projects in Lowndes County

Those are just the T-SPLOST dollar amounts; not the total costs of those two projects. A third project, for exits 22 and 29, got moved to TIP money, which is federal money. Why didn’t these two also get moved to TIP and off of the T-SPLOST list?

Previously I reported on Corrected T-SPLOST Southern Region Cost Changes including a list of projects. Of three I-75 projects, two are still on the final project list of October 2011. Here’s a summary:

Number
+ Name		Original Total
Cost Estimate
+ Updated 		Difference
Diff%		TIA Funding
(includes Inflation)		In Final List?
RC11-000081
I-75 at CR 27/Lake Park-Bellville Road Interchange Improvements – Exit 2		 $38,965,901.00
$39,745,219.00		 $779,318.00
2%		 $22,379,786 yes
RC11-000082
I-75 at SR 31 Interchange Replacement – Exit 11		 $22,806,928.00
$23,263,033.00		 $456,105.00
1.99985%		 $13,098,977 yes
RC11-000083
I-75 from North of SR 133 to Cook County Line – Exits 22 & 29		 $44,617,196.00
$44,617,196.00		 $0.00
0%		 $0 no

Finally, here are the details for each of those projects, extracted from the final report for exits 2 and 11, and from the unconstrained list for exits 22 and 29. Why are the remaining two not like the one that got moved to federal funding?

-jsq

Project Sheet

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Transportation plan open house @ SGRC 2012-05-22

Received 1 June 2012 about the 22 May 2012 VLMPO Open House at SGRC. The “Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, is the short-range plan approved by the VLMPO Policy Committee that allows federal funds to be spent on various transportation projects in the region.” -jsq

I attended the transportation plan open house on the day that anyone could come from early morning until 7:00 PM and when I went at 5, I was only the sixth person who had been there all day. Corey Hull showed me and four other people the plan, answered our questions, explained the difference between this long term plan and the TSPLOST and there was a discussion about how one might go about becoming a bus services provider in the area. The amount of money allocated to the city of Valdosta for transportation is not an amount that is near what a bus system would cost, so there still will have to be other funds available to make that possible. Even though our group brought the attendance for the day up to 10 citizens, it was a huge improvement over the last open house, when NO ONE showed. Corey Hull was very helpful and had a lot of information that probably would have been fascinating to others if they had attended, but once again there was virtually no input.

-Jane F. Osborn, MSSW
Valdosta, GA
229-630-0924

According to projects submitted for T-SPLOST, a bus system would cost about $7.5 million (startup and a few years run-time), but that got cut first pass, while $12 million for widening one road is still in the T-SPLOST list. I’m told that public transportation is not an issue around here. If people think it is, maybe they should show up at meetings like the one SGRC organized about the other transportation plan and say they want a bus system.

-jsq

Transportation Improvement Program for Valdosta Urbanized Area

Gretchen found this in the public notices in the VDT:
5/5/2010
gpn14

The Valdosta-Lowndes Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has developed the Draft Fiscal Year 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the Valdosta Urbanized Area which includes all of Lowndes County and portions of Berrien and Lanier Counties.

This TIP is available for public review and comment from April 20, 2010 through June 3, 2010 at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission, 327 W. Savannah Ave.; the South Georgia Regional Library located at 300 Woodrow Wilson Dr.; the Valdosta City Hall located at 216 E. Central Ave.; the Lowndes County Administrative Offices located at 325 W. Savannah Ave.; or on the internet at www.sgrc.us/transportation; www.valdostacity.com; or www.lowndescounty.com.

A Public Open House will be held on Monday, May 17, 2010 from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission located at 327 W Savannah Ave., Valdosta, GA, for interested parties to view the document and ask questions of staff.

Comments are being accepted by email at chull@sgrc.us by fax at 229-333-5312, or by mailing them to VLMPO, 327 W Savannah Ave., Valdosta, GA 31601.

For more information, please call Corey Hull, MPO Coordinator at 229-333-5277.

23558663
04/25;05/16/10

The TIP is on the SGRC website.

Note this TIP is different from the longer-term 2035 Transportation Plan. The TIP is apparently for projects expected to be implemented in the next few years.

-jsq
John S. Quarterman