4 Cherokee Projects Make Final TSPLOST List

By a unanimous vote, leaders from across metro Atlanta on Thursday approved a $6.14 billion package of road improvements to be funded by a regional penny sales tax referendum on the ballot next summer.

The Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable "acted today to put forward a set of 157 key transportation projects to voters next year that can combat congestion, create and support jobs and enhance the quality of life for residents around the 10-county Atlanta region," said Bucky Johnson, the mayor of Norcross and the chairman of the Roundtable. "This final list of investments will move us forward and make sure the Atlanta region remains competitive well."

Four Cherokee County transportation projects made the final list, which was cut from $23 billion to $6.1 billion. They include:

• $7 million to replace the bridge on Bells Ferry Road at Little River.
• $70 million to widen Hickory Flat Highway from East Cherokee Drive to Mountain Road.
• $70 million to widen Hickory Flat Highway from Interstate 575 to East Cherokee Drive.
• $50 million to widen Hickory Flat Highway from Mountain Road to the Fulton County line.

It will be up to voters to decide if they get built. Residents will vote on a regional, 10-year penny sales tax on July 31, 2012. During , residents panned the idea.

"I like to have a jingle in my pocket and all my pennies are being used up," Carolyn Cosby of Ball Ground said at the forum. Cosby is the that wants to look into ways the county can save money and operate more efficiently. (Watch a .) 

While 85 percent of the funding will pay for the projects that made the final list, the remaining 15 percent will go to each individual county for local improvements of their choosing, officials told the Cherokee crowd.

Open the PDF on this page to view the final report of the Roundtable, which includes a list of all of the projects.