DOT loan to improve Atlanta’s interstates

   The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that a $275 million loan under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (TIFIA) has been issued to Georgia to build new reversible lanes along Interstates 75 and 575.
   The 29.7-mile-long project will relieve congestion along the heavily trafficked corridor during morning and evening peak periods, DOT said. The loan will go toward the $833.7 million total cost of the project.
   The corridor has long been recognized as one of the Atlanta region’s most congested travel corridors with over 400,000 residents in the area. It is also one of the most economically important areas in the Southeast, containing several of the region’s major activity and employment centers, including Cumberland Galleria, Marietta and Town Center.
   The TIFIA credit program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage large non-federal investments. Each dollar of federal funding can provide up to $10 in TIFIA credit assistance and support up to $30 in transportation infrastructure investment, according to DOT. Since its launch, TIFIA has helped 37 projects turn over $12.7 billion in DOT assistance into more than $49 billion in infrastructure investment across the country.
   The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) also transformed TIFIA into one of the largest transportation infrastructure loan programs in history, making up to $17 billion available in credit assistance for critical infrastructure projects.