Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely said Wednesday that the federal government has withheld $63 million this fiscal year, bringing total state losses to $237 million since 2005.
“Continuing federal shortfalls will force us to make difficult decisions,” Mr. Nicely said. “Especially those programs which receive a majority of funds from the federal government.”
Georgia lost even more, having $116 million in cuts for the 2008 fiscal year, records show. The Peach State has lost more than $395 million since 2005, Georgia transportation officials said.
However, Georgia Department of Transportation officials had not included that money in their budget, spokesman David Spear said.
“We’re just losing money we never really had or planned to have,” Mr. Spear said.
Tennessee transportation officials, however, said they are losing money that helps pay for road building, bridge maintenance and air quality improvement. The loss affects almost all parts of TDOT’s budget, they said.
Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said it could be months before the Chattanooga-Hamilton County-North Georgia Metropolitan Planning Organization, which controls road projects, finds out how much its budget has been affected.
“We don’t know until we see what flows down from the state,” he said. “It’s still not good.”
Mr. Ramsey said local planners will continue to do “the best we can with what we’ve got.”
TDOT Chief Engineer Paul Degges said Wednesday the metropolitan planning organization should not face much loss. The federal legislation affects states, not cities, he said.
Tennessee faces more losses than Georgia because TDOT includes the money in its annual budget, he said. If the state did not budget it, it risks losing the potential money, he said.
“We want to be able to capitalize,” Mr. Degges said. “We plan to spend all of it.”
Trip Pollard, director of transportation for the Southern Environmental Law Center and a member of the Tennessee Environmental Advisory Council, said state transportation officials knew beforehand cuts were on the way.
“I think most people saw this coming and had been planning for it for quite a while,” he said. “But it certainly puts a crink in planning.”
Kim Harpe, coordinator for the Southeast Tennessee Rural Planning Organization, said the money loss probably means no new projects this year outside Hamilton County. The organization includes Bradley, Bledsoe, Grundy, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk and Rhea counties.
“It’s certainly not good news,” she said. “All the RPOs and MPOs are clamoring for these dollars.”
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
Or login with:
New Account