ATLANTA — Governor Brian Kemp offered a glimpse of his legislative priorities for this year, with a big focus on improving roads and easing traffic congestion.
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Speaking at the Eggs and Issues breakfast on Wednesday, he said his budget proposal calls for $1.8 billion for more capacity along Interstate 75 in Henry County by building dedicated express lanes in each direction.
The governor said that nearly 200,000 vehicles travel that stretch every day, a quarter of them trucks.
“That is a sign of a strong and active economy, no doubt, but without enough road capacity, it creates bottlenecks and slowdowns,” he said.
Once the express lanes are completed, he said, “as much as 70% more vehicles will be able to pass through that corridor during the rush hours.”
He also proposed investing $200 million for continued improvements along Georgia Highway 316, the main link between metro Atlanta and Athens that has long been burdened with heavy traffic and accidents.
“With incredible growth all along this state route, from Gwinnett County to Athens, we know how great the need is to turn this state route into a true, safe expressway,” he said. “It shouldn’t take you a full afternoon to get from Athens to Atlanta, and vice versa.”
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Kemp announced additional road investments: $250 million to improve local roads and $100 million on bridge upgrades in rural areas. He spoke during the annual breakfast that brings together political and business leaders to discuss their priorities for the coming year, and it came a day before his State of the State speech on Thursday.
“All of this additional funding for transportation projects is certainly needed, but it also has the added benefit of keeping Georgians working in the years to come,” the governor said.
Another priority is addressing homelessness in metro Atlanta and other cities across Georgia. Kemp announced Wednesday the creation of a program called the Homelessness Response Grant, in which the state will make a one-time investment of $50 million to help get people off the streets and provide them with resources to improve their lives.
“Resources will go to emergency shelter and transitional housing, street outreach and engagement teams, and wraparound services like mental healthcare, drug rehabilitation and other needs,” he said.
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The governor vowed to continue working to make life more affordable for Georgians.
“While many politicians are all of a sudden talking about affordability, here in Georgia, we’ve actually been doing something about it,” he said.
Kemp pointed to “repeatedly cutting taxes” and “multiple tax rebates” that have saved money for Georgia taxpayers.
“Because Georgians know better than politicians how to spend their money,” he said.