A proposed underground tunnel that would bust it’s way through many East Atlanta neighborhoods to “alleviate traffic” on the Downtown Connector is projected on a GDOT Workshop Project sheet (page 11) to cost $3.7 billion dollars.
Which got me thinking. What would any half-sane, non-political body (that’s you!) do with $4 billion to elevate Atlanta’s traffic congestion?
P.S. Click the map to the right to enlarge it.
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$ 4B would fund a state-wide passenger rail network, so you could go from Atlanta to Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, etc. It’s also about the same $$ as the 5th runway at Hartsfield cost.
“elevate Atlanta’s traffic congestion?”
I assume you mean “eliminate” Atlanta’s traffic congestion?
$4Billion would only be a small downpayment on our own BIG DIG imbroglio. No thanks! VMT is way down and will go down in the forseeable future. The need for another autobahn is diminishing everyday and by the time this tunnel project was finished, it would quickly be turned into the ultimate covered bike path. Oil and coal powered (plugin hybrid) cars will just be planters in the old folks yard.
The best investment for getting around ATL is expansion/improvement of MARTA rail both around and in the metro. It was a great idea when it was started and is still a great idea.
Or do you mean “alleviate” Atlanta’s traffic congestion?
Ideas:
-I don’t know if a one-time infusion of $4 billion could do this but I’d like to see better bus service to connect to MARTA rail. The buses are so sporadic in coverage and run so infrequently that they are only useful for a few. Because I use MARTA rail for work, I’ve tried to use buses as a way to get to MARTA rail or for during the day or after work trips before I go home. It’s been close to impossible. And you definitely can’t count on buses for unexpected trips that come up because of the infrequency of service.
-Safe bicycle travel, i.e. widespread bike lanes that commuters and shoppers can use, not just bike paths for recreational travel. We’ve got the weather for it, the cycling community, just not the safe infrastructure.
A space elevator to send David Doss on a one-way trip.
I would scrap any buildng road projects and pay down (some) of the national debt and fund research and give incentives to go green in our choice of transportation.
That thing would run under Morningside and Va-Hi, and then directly under Moreland through L5P. LOL!!! Seriously, I just laughed out loud.
But I don’t think the people pushing this think it will actually happen. It just sounds like a good idea to about 75% of the Metro Atlanta population, so they float it around, wearing it like a label – “see, I’ve got a plan to alleviate traffic!”. The reality is this is not a plan that would ever be implemented, but the 75% don’t really understand that.
With the $3.7 billion I’d buy flying cars for all Falcons fans.
THIS AWESOME!! Just the other day, on my daily commute from Decatur to Tucker, I was thinking to myself:
“Self, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to go from GA-400 to I-675 so we could get a cup of coffee from the Starbucks in Stockbridge?”
To which I replied:
“BRILLIANT!”
It’s like the DOT was listening to my inner voices.
You drive to Tucker?
Almost daily (when I’m not doing site inspections)
scrap the whole metro and start over.
Create incentives for people who really can’t afford it to trade in their old clunkers and buy new cars.
Oh wait, I think that’s already been done.
That reminds me, I forgot to thank my fellow taxpayers for my 2010 import.
THX!
Portland could build another 285 miles of trolleys. I don’t know about us.
Prog. Dem:
Funny that you should mention Portland in a thread about four-billion-dollar interstate idiocies.
And all they get is a bridge.
. . . hope links are OK:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/money_political_woes_dont_dera.html
Even the light-rail cabal (as an Portland-area transit engineer I know calls them) has trouble with their DOT and governor.
I truly like it. If I had $4b, I would start building it tomorrow or sooner.
Who says Boston is better than Atlanta at something? I way we could screw this up better than any other city in the nation!
And besides, I’d like to see one of those giant tunnel boring machines up close. Cool.
I’m picturing the Underminer’s giant drill/vehicle from “The Incredibles” right now.
I’d build a 4/5 Academy.
Just kiddin.
Don’t kid. I like this idea. We could have everything everyone wanted–a menu of neighborhood and magnet schools, EL then IB at all levels with all teachers trained in it, money to train all teachers to be gifted certified and know how to do truly differentiated cluster instruction, Chinese and French added to our whole language program–then, with Spanish, we’d have most continents covered, lots of paraprofessionals in all the elementary schools, Active boards in every classroom, well-stocked media center/librarires, all sports and cheerleading added back to Renfroe, fencing added new, our severely affected special ed kids brought back from Columbia High to a home program, graduation coaches, as many AP classes as kids want to sign up for, enrichment and child care during school breaks, summer school for all who need it, incentives, promotions, benefits, and awards to retain the best teachers, and there’s probably hundreds of other important things we could do with this kind of money and still have enough for five school systems.
But, hey, tunnels are permanent, children are not.
Nah…. tunnels aren’t permanent. Ask the Egyptians.
I wonder how much granite they would run into while trying build that thing. Anyhow, if I had $4 billion to spend, I’d figure out what new spur line of MARTA could be built and then build it. Or build the multi-modal train station downtown along with commuter rail line to Athens and a line to Chattanooga.
HA!…I wondered about that too…I’ll bet there’s a lot of granite down there!
Granite is what you want. It makes for a solid walled, stable tunnel. Predictable digging.
One of the biggest hurdles of the Big Dig was that it had to go through lots of wet sand which had to be braced back with slurry walls before the tunnel could be dug and concrete walls poured in.
ch
Although our state legislators would disagree, roads and tunnels are NOT the answer! The money should go toward the improvement of MARTA’s rail service, or development of light rail along the BeltLine.
replace scott blvd with a tunnel, from one end of city of decatur to the other. have a 2 lane road on top with bicycle paths, and park area including a Decutur High Renfroe baseball field.
Fantastic! And then the biggest drawback of the Westchester Elementary Building, it’s placement on a busy, four-lane state highway, would be taken away and it would be a perfect site for a school or recreation building and park! Not sure which is more unlikely, that Scott Blvd would become a tunnel or that Westchester will ever be used for children again.
(Watch out! Incoming bubbling fury!)
Great idea, but continue to North DeKalb mall. On the surface turn all the abandoned car dealerships along Scott from North Decatur to the mall into a massive park with easy access to Indian cuisine.
Hold on folks! The goal is meritorious …how about a barge canal in place of a tunnel? Commuters in cars, on bike and on foot could be barged between 400 and I-675. Think of the cool dining establishments and pubs that would spring up – all overlooking along the canal! And the Left Bank could become a tourist destination … the possibilities are endless!