D-VE: A Bad Deal for Taxpayers

In this letter to the editor, Tina Norris of Kingston details recent developments in the battle over the proposed U.S. 411 Connector and the Georgia Department of Transportation chosen route, D-VE. She says she can't believe GDOT has failed to study potential acid runoff "the single largest environmental issue in its path."

Dear Editor,

There have been plenty of developments in the past few weeks about the hotly contested, $214 million U.S. 411 Connector, a proposed road linking Rome to I-75. To the surprise of some, State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jeff Mullis recently voiced his opposition to the proposed route – Route D-VE – in a letter to U.S. DOT and GDOT.

In case readers missed it, he cited the route’s exorbitant price tag, the potential for further delays and environmental issues, as his main reasons for opposing the route. Instead of continuing GDOT’s Route D-VE boondoggle, Mullis is endorsing an alternate route that would cost taxpayers significantly less, require fewer T-SPLOST dollars and is much more efficient.

To that end, readers have heard for years that GDOT has “dotted every ‘i’ and crossed every ‘t’” when studying Route D-VE’s many environmental issues. And recently, GDOT has been quoted as saying its environmental work for the route is “nearing completion.”

Then, in another intriguing development, a recent letter from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service emerged stating that GDOT failed to study the geologic conditions of Dobbins Mountain and potential for acidic drainage at the required cut through the mountain. Incredibly, GDOT has done nothing to study Dobbins Mountain, even though the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service asked GDOT to do so more than a year ago. The net result is no federal funds or permits can even be considered for the project, until GDOT completes the required studies.

How can GDOT fail to study the single largest environmental issue in its path, while claiming they have studied everything? And we are to believe this route will hold-up under legal scrutiny?

As is stands, Route D-VE remains a bad deal for taxpayers, and should be scrapped indefinitely for an alternate route.

Best regards,

Tina Norris