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Experts Tell Troubled Story about US 411 Connector at Dobbins Mountain Presentations
Last week’s events at the Rollins Ranch in Cartersville gave attendees a new perspective of the proposed U.S. 411 Connector project. Experts in engineering, transportation and biology discussed the monetary and environmental impacts Route D would have on residents of Bartow and Floyd. Guests were also invited to take a tour of Dobbins Mountain after the event to see where the center line and right-of-way will cut through the mountain.
Walking the property that Route D would destroy helped several realize… Route D is a poor choice on all fronts for three main reasons:
- ACCESS: Route D doesn’t solve the problem. It doesn’t offer easy, direct access to Atlanta for Rome and Floyd County residents. Also, experts indicate that the “atypical” interchange GDOT plans for Route D at I-75 will increase congestion, safety concerns and traffic jams.
- COST: Route D costs millions more than other more feasible, shorter routes.
- ENVIRONMENT: Route D would cause environmental destruction. Blasting through Dobbins Mountain would threaten Etowah River Basin ecosystems and many “at-risk” species. The Cherokee Darter is endemic to the Etowah River Basin, meaning it is found nowhere else in the world, and is listed as an endangered species.
What’s next?
Over the next several weeks, this website will serve as your go-to source for information regarding the 411 Connector project. Check back in with us weekly for blog updates on 411 Connector news, applicable media coverage, upcoming events and ways to get involved. Tell us what you think. Join the discussion. Join the Coalition. Help us get the Right Road built!
-Coalition for the Right Road
Transportation bill triggers complex machinations
by Walter C. Jones Morris News Service
(Published in the Rome News-Tribune)
04.24.10 – 09:01 pm
ATLANTA — If getting the General Assembly to finally agree on a transportation-funding plan after three years sounds complicated and plagued by politics, wait until the leaders of 500 cities and 159 counties try to get come to terms.
The 29-page bill that eventually cleared the legislature runs about 10 times the length of the average bill and just as complex. It inserts more state influence into Atlanta’s Marta transit system, gives the Senate a veto over the governor’s pick for transportation-planning director, creates the woefully named Georgia Coordinating Committee for Rural and Human Services Transportation of the Governor’s Development Council, and it sets the mechanism for a higher sales tax to fund transportation.
Although it’s been under discussion for three years, the specific bill, or rather the report of the six-member conference committee, was only placed on legislator’s desks the minimum one hour before they voted at the end of a long, busy day.
US 411 Connector: Full Speed Ahead
Welcome to the Coalition for the Right Road, a group of Georgia citizens committed to making sure the 411 Connector is built as soon as possible with minimal environmental impact and at the lowest cost to taxpayers.
For more than 30 years, Georgia leaders have talked about building the 411 Connector – a limited-access highway that would bypass the US 41/411/SR 20 interchange in Bartow County and provide a direct route to I-75 from Cartersville and Rome.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) now says it is ready to move forward with the 411 Connector – but has proposed a route (“Route D”) that would require the destruction of Dobbins Mountain in order to connect the new road to I-75.
Other options exist for the 411 Connector that can be built sooner, without destroying one of Bartow County’s most beautiful mountains, and for millions of dollars less than Route D.
Learn more and help us protect this mountain, protect your tax dollars, and finally make the 411 Connector a reality.
