Gov. Nathan Deal said the state will spend $100 million in bonds to build a series of four new bus-only interchanges along a 16-mile stretch of Ga. 400, hailing it as a “groundbreaking” state investment in mass transit.
The sum is included in the governor’s 2019 budget – Deal cited a need to keep up with a “21st Century economy and workforce” – but until Tuesday it wasn’t clear where the money would be spent.
The project is part of a broader $1.8 billion overhaul of the highway designed to add new toll lanes and accommodate bus rapid transit interchanges.
He said the bustling Ga. 400 corridor, which links north Atlanta’s suburbs to the city’s urban core, was picked because it could quickly help eliminate congestion around economic hubs.
It is the first time the state, Fulton County and MARTA have directly partnered on a mass transit system, Deal said.