TSPLOST passes in South Georgia

Terry Richards, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·3 min read

May 24—VALDOSTA — South Georgia's voters chose to move forward with spending millions of dollars on transportation-related projects May 21.

TSPLOST — Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, also known as the Transportation Investment Act — is a regional sales tax for transportation projects. It involves a 1% tax over 10 years.

The counties involved in the May 21 TSPLOST vote were Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner and Ware.

Only Brantley and Ware counties voted TSPLOST down; the act passed in all the rest, according to numbers from the Georgia Secretary of State's website.

In Lowndes County, the most populous of the counties voting in the regional TSPLOST project, the vote was a close one; 4,974 voters said "yes" while 4,644 said "no," a spread of only 330 votes.

In Tift County, 1,650 voters approved of TSPLOST while 1,152 cast "no" votes.

Overall, voters in all the counties approved TSPLOST with 19,466 "yes" votes to to 15,683 "no" votes.

Hundreds of transportation projects, from road paving to major construction efforts, are listed on the Southern Georgia Regional Commission's investment list for the new TSPLOST. These projects are slated to take place between 2027 and 2036.

The following list shows notable projects on the TSPOST list around the Tifton and Valdosta areas. The phrase "Total Project Cost" includes TSPLOST taxes and contributions, if any, by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Tift County

— Carpenter Road South widening, grading, base and pavement improvements. Total project cost: $25.4 million.

— King Road widening, grading, drainage, base and pavement improvements. Total project cost: $8.3 million.

— Kent Road widening, grading, drainage, base and pavement improvements. Total project cost: $5 million.

Lowndes County

— Work on I-75 interchange at Ga. 133. Total project cost: $41 million.

— Val Del Road widening. Total project cost: $25 million.

— Park Avenue Road widening and intersection improvements. Total project cost: $23.5 million.

Berrien County

— Mussellwhite Store Road street and drainage improvements. Total project cost: $4.1 million.

— Sidewalk improvements for a number of streets in Nashville, including Davis Street, Smith Avenue, Edgewood Street, McPherson Avenue, Jefferson Street, Washington Street, Taylor Street and Marion Street. Total project cost: $2.1 million.

— Fire Tower Road drain, base and paving. Total project cost: $3.5 million.

Cook County

— Interchange work at intersection of I-75 and CR 246/Kinard Bridge Road. Total project cost: $51.5 million.

— Intersection improvement at West Fourth Street and Elm Street. Total project cost: $6 million.

— Working on a roundabout at US 41/SR 7 and Old Quitman Road intersection. Total project cost: $3.7 million.

Echols County

— J. Frank Culpepper Road resurfacing. Total project cost: $1.5 million.

— Bethel Church Road resurfacing. Total project cost: $1.2 million.

— Work on SR 94 and SR 135 intersection west of Statenville. Total project cost:$4 million.

Lanier County

— Teeterville Road resurfacing. Total project cost: $2.7 million.

— Resurfacing for several roads, including Ivey Road, Baskins Road and Poplar Springs. Total project cost: $2 million.

— Resurfacing for a number of roads in Lakeland, including Teeterville Road, West Linda Street, Jackson Avenue, South 10th Street, East Bostick Avenue, North Lakeshore Drive, South Lakeshore Drive and Temple Street. Total project cost: $1.3 million.

Brooks County

— Improvements at intersection of Ga. 122 and Ga. 333. Total project cost: $4 million.

— Ferris Road paving and drainage improvements. Total project cost: $3.8 million.

— Hodges Road paving and drainage improvements. Total project cost: $2.5 million.

For a full list of projects, go to https://www.sgrc.us/southern-georgia-tia.html and click on "Southern Georgia Final Investment Report — 2024 Renewal."

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.