Few transportation tax projects starting this year | The Augusta Chronicle

Taxpayers handing over an extra penny in sales tax for every dollar won’t see a big payout in the first year of the massive transportation system overhaul coming to the Augusta region.

By the end of 2013, the Georgia Department of Transportation plans to accept bids for only a handful of projects. Leaders say that doesn’t mean the tax fund isn’t being used but that planners need time for pre-construction work.

“Projects have planning in place,” said state transportation board member Don Grantham. “It just doesn’t put a shovel in the ground overnight.”

Collections began Jan. 1 for the 1-percent tax for transportation projects that voters in a 13-county area encompassing Augusta approved last July.

In the first three months of the tax, revenue collections were 14.6 percent below projections made in November, said Diana Pope, the director of the financing division for the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission. About $14.2 million was collected through March.

via Few transportation tax projects starting this year | The Augusta Chronicle.