ATLANTA — Funding from the federal $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is making its way to Georgia for initiatives and projects critical to the state’s infrastructure.

Through early September, $6.7 billion from the 2021 act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, has been announced to head to Georgia with more than 311 specific projects identified for funding, including $4.5 billion for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports.

“The impact is going to be quite significant. Instead of closing off those bridges to traffic and instead of people having to purchase new tires from going through potholes on Georgia’s roads or having to get wheel alignments …the damage to cars because of dilapidated roads … we’ll be able to eliminate that with this funding that is generated from the (infrastructure law),” Democratic Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson said.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed the U.S. Senate by a bipartisan vote of 69-30 in August 2021, followed in November of that year with passage in the U.S. House on a vote of 228-206.

The vote from Georgia lawmakers was along party lines. Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, blamed Democrats.

“Democrats have again rammed through unpopular liberal policies. They are completely out of touch with Americans, or they simply don’t care what they think,” Scott said in a statement at the time.

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said when it comes to infrastructure improvements throughout the state, “things don’t happen fast.”

“This is truly once-in-a-lifetime, generational funding at the national level,” he said. “Most of that funding — in fact, over 50% of it — went to energy, water, wastewater and broadband.”

The remainder, he said, went to transportation projects.

The investments increased GDOT’s federal funding levels by about 20%. However, McMurry said the federal funding windfall is largely being negated by inflationary increases and the uptick in construction expenses.

In total, Georgia is expected to receive approximately $9.2 billion through a five-year period for highways and bridges. So far, $3.7 billion has been announced for large and small communities.

For example, in Colquitt County, a long-needed safety improvement project at Georgia Highway 37 at Thigpen Trail is expected to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes at the intersection.

The intersection has been the site of multiple serious wrecks, including at least two fatal crashes since 2017.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has proposed installing a roundabout to make the intersection safer, and the federal government plans to pay for the construction through infrastructure funds.

According to the project website, it received $718,000 from the Highway Safety Improvement Program for preliminary engineering. Right-of-way authorization is expected by 2025, though the timeline could change due to a variety of factors.

In large part, transportation-related projects and initiatives are a majority of Georgia’s anticipated infrastructure dollars.

The state is expected to receive approximately $1.5 billion over five years to improve public transit across the state, and to date, Georgia has been allocated $279.9 million to do so through grants available to local governments and organizations.

So far, schools in Georgia have been awarded $50.8 million through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, and communities in the state have also been awarded $53.3 million for clean, low-emission transit buses and improved bus service.

According to a White House update, Georgia should expect to receive roughly $135 million in formula funding over five years to support the expansion of electric vehicle charging in the state, and so far through early September has been allocated $48.7 million to build out a network of EV chargers across the state.

Gov. Brian Kemp has continued to tout his goal of Georgia becoming an electric mobility capital of the U.S. as several EV manufacturers have begun locating in Georgia.

“The nation and the world continue to move towards clean energy and clean power generation, and electric vehicles are a large part of that,” Johnson said. “Electric vehicle charging stations are fundamental or foundational.”

Georgia has received approximately $296 million in 2022 and 2023 for airports across the state.

A total of $500 million in the Airport Terminals Program and Airport Infrastructure Grants has been allocated to the country’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

“The airport has plans to use these funds on several projects that focus on renewal and replacement of aging infrastructure, capacity increases and customer enhancements,” a spokesperson said in an email. “Specific projects currently being planned are additional gates on Concourse E as part of our Concourse D widening project, restroom enhancements, and electrical and HVAC upgrades.”

Among major projects boosted by infrastructure dollars is the Savannah Harbor expansion, a project essential to the transportation of goods in the U.S., as Savannah is in the top five busiest ports in the country.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the deepening phase of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project to a high-tide depth of 54 feet last year.

The $48 million in federal funds went to fully funding environmental monitoring, which is a required part of the expansion project’s mitigation.

Georgia Port Authority Chief Administrative Officer Jamie McCurry said the deepening allows more capacity for vessels carrying 16,000 20-foot-equivalent container units, allowing ships to travel the river with more containers each trip and during more hours of the day.

“The deeper water enables ships to load up to approximately 1,000 containers worth of additional cargo, for increased efficiency in vessel transport,” McCurry said.

According to a Corps of Engineers study, the project is expected to net more than $291 million in annual benefits to the nation, or approximately $7.70 for every dollar invested in the project.

Additional funding update and highlights for Georgia, per the White House:

Georgia has received $1.3 billion through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program to provide access to high-speed internet to Georgians; as of early September, more than 656,000 Georgia households are enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program.

To date, $304 million has been made available to provide clean and safe water across the state through the Environmental Protection Agency; $95.5 million of that is dedicated to lead pipe and service line replacement, with another $99.5 million for safe drinking water investments that can also support lead pipe replacement “Water flowing through lead pipes that have been in place for decade after decade, 60-70 years … with those being replaced we can provide clean and healthy drinking water. The significance of that cannot be overstated,” Johnson, the lawmaker, said.

To date, approximately $187.9 million has been allocated to Georgia for infrastructure resilience against the impacts of climate change, extreme weather events and other hazards like cyberattacks.

Projects in Lowndes County

Listed figures are obligated federal funding. Partial funding for some projects has already been outlayed, while others have received no money yet. Some projects rely on non-federal funding as well.

State Route 38 from Rocky Ford Road to east of Jones Street. $2.6 million.

State Route 376 from State Route 31 to west of Loch Lauren Road. $1.2 million.

State Route 376 from State Route 7 in Lowndes County to State Route 135 in Echols County. $1.6 million.

State Route 122 at State Route 125, Right of Way. $1.4 million.

I-75 at State Route 31, Phase II. $8.2 million.

State Route 31 from Carroll Road to State Route 7. $2.5 million.

State Route 7/US 41 from SR7 Business to Greystone Way. $2.9 million.

Valdosta Regional Airport, two allotments of $1.03 million each, one in Fiscal Year 2022 and one in Fiscal Year 2023.

Source: https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-bil-maps-dashboard