The Fourth Congressional District is a growing metroplex.  It comprises some of the fastest growing counties in the entire United States.  Infrastructure needs are important.  And transportation dollars are important to this growing region.  Jobs can be lost if congestion becomes an issue.  Health effects are sure to come, for example, increased asthma, if traffic congestion isn't treated as an important issue.  Toward that end, the Congresswoman has been praised by the former CEO of DeKalb County, Liane Levitan, and the current CEO of DeKalb County, Vernon Jones, for bringing important transportation dollars back to the Fourth District.

Interestingly, as you drive throughout the District, you will see Cynthia's work in action, either from the work of the State of Georgia or from DeKalb County.  For example, Cynthia secured funding for the completion of I-20 at Wesley Chapel and the Lithonia Industrial Connector. As many of you may recall, CEO Jones stated this project was able to come in not only ahead of schedule but below costs. This was accomplished with federal dollars obtained by my office.  Much of the transportation money that Cynthia was able to bring back for Candler Road, Buford Highway, and Memorial Drive has yet to be spent. This term, Cynthia brought back even more money for the Memorial Drive and Buford Highway corridors, despite the fact that the previous tranche of money is still waiting to be spent.

Funds previously requested by Cynthia and received for the Fourth Congressional District and metro Atlanta included:

• $6 million for the purchase of new compressed natural gas powered buses for Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
• $1 million for Intelligent Transportation Systems to be administered by the Georgia Regional Transit Authority (GRTA) in metro Atlanta
• $1 million to the Atlanta Regional Commission for reverse commute and job access planning
• 500,000 to Gwinnett County for an operations and maintenance bus facility
• $6,000,000 to GRTA for express buses
• $400,000 for a partnership program between GRTA and the California Association of Governments for the purpose of transit trip planning.

This term, Cynthia brought back even more transportation dollars. Here is a sampling of the projects you will see in your community as a result of her work:

• $2,400,000 to upgrade the safety of bicycle and pedestrian access to public schools
• $2,400,000 to construct pedestrian safety improvements on Buford Highway
• $1,600,000 to construct three greenway trail projects
• $1,600,000 for bicycle and pedestrian safety on Memorial Drive
• $800,000 to construct bike lanes and sidewalks along Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road
• $800,000 for Northlake streetscapes
• $1,000,000 to DeKalb County Schools for pedestrian and bike improvements around schools
• $1,000,000 for pedestrian improvements on Buford Highway
• $1,000,000 for bike lanes along the Stone Mountain side
• $2,000,000 for improvements on Rockbridge Road
• $500,000 for congestion elimination analysis of Southeast DeKalb County
• $4,000,000 to the City of Clarkston for pedestrian improvements
• $200,000 each year to MARTA for FY 2006 - 2009 for a smart-card fare collection system
• $1,000,000 each year to MARTA for FY 2006 - 2009
• $1,200,000 to GA DOT for HOV lane expansion DeKalb and Rockdale counties.

With the exception of monies to Georgia Department of Transportation (GA DOT), MARTA, the City of Clarkston, and DeKalb County Schools, all federal funds were paid directly to DeKalb County.  In fact, during the naming of the Lou Walker Senior Citizen Center, CEO Jones publicly thanked Cynthia for bringing millions of dollars to DeKalb County.

Cynthia got funding for the State of Georgia to expand the HOV lane of Interstate 20 eastward from Evans Mill Road in DeKalb County to Salem Road in Rockdale County.

Finally, the Congresswoman has been successful both in the past and in this term in bringing regional transportation money back to Georgia for both MARTA and GRTA.  The Congresswoman initiated discussion and study of a rail in South DeKalb.  Millions of dollars in the past have been devoted to bringing rail into South DeKalb.  This term, the Congresswoman successfully brought preliminary engineering authorization to MARTA for its Memorial Drive bus rapid transit project and for continued study of the MARTA I-20 eastline corridor project, originally initiated by Congresswoman McKinney.