The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 260

41. CLAYTON EXTRA, SEPTEMBER 17, 1987 Light at end of the tunnel for Interstate 85 construction By Lm Dancy Staff Writer Southwest LG5I-2G5 m. Interchange zil Interstate 85 is a highway finding its own identity through a traffic-laden 1 ft -mile corridor south of flartsfield International Airport For about the past 20 years, the federal controlled-access road has taken Atlanta area drivers southwest to Montgomery and Mobile, Ala. But a stretch of the road merges for 1.6 miles with Interstate 285 from just south of the I-85Ri-verdale Road exit west to the Georgia Spur 14I-85I-285 interchange. A $94 million part of Atlanta's $1.4 billion "Freeing the Freeways" construction project will separate the two roads.

Georgia Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Gary King now calls it the "common section," and he likes to joke that when completed next summer it will be the "uncommon section." Non-stop southbound 1-85 travelers will be able to zip right through that now-challenging stretch of highway, and 1-285 travelers will no longer have to share their road with the long-distance travelers. Traffic lanes in this section will more than double from the original six lanes to 16 when complete. About 35 percent of the work the most time-consuming portion has already been completed. Construction on the "common section," plus widening from four to eight lanes a 4.2-mile stretch of 1-85 south of 1-285 to Georgia Highway 74 should be mostly complete by June 1988. A 12-mile length of Highway 74 southeast from the 1-85 intersection southeast to Peachtree City should be widened from two to four lanes by next summer as well "We're really starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now," said Tom Turner, DOT'S district oonstniction engineer for downtown Atlanta and southbound interstate highway work.

'1 know people down there have waited a long time for it," Turner Total cost of the three projects Clayton Sporte Editor Steve Lasky Staff Write Lori Boyer DtokBuerkle Lm Dancy Chartos A. McDonald BIN Coppaae Inquiries should be addressed to the Cteyton Extra, 1947 Providence Court, Collage Parte, 30337, or phone 7-2S21 for news or M7-1CS4 tor advertising. mm ections of the 1-285 will solve that problem. Mixing 1-85 and 1-285 traffic for a relatively short distance on the. is an intersection with Old National Highway.

Cars waiting for lights to change on Old National ramps backed up into oncoming 1-285 east-bound and westbound traffic, but the addition of four outermost collectordistributor lanes for both dir said. The biggest improvement will be safety. Serious problems existed prior to 1982 when the first contract on the common section was let Midway in the common section plus a Highway 74 bridge widenit? from two to four lanes at 1-85 will come close to $115 million. It should greatly improve the commute for airport and downtown Atlanta workers who live in south Fulton and Fayette Counties, Turner JONESBORO This is not a letter to the editor. This is a letter to you fellow residents of Clayton County and it concerns the proposed tax referendum slated for Oct 6th.

Please carefully consider your vote. You will be asked to approve a local option tax increasing the sales tax in Clayton County from 3 percent to 4 percent for a period of 30 months. This calculates to 1 cent on every dollar you spend in Clayton County. According to a recent survey, this tax will cost every county taxpayer 10c per day (or 30 months amounting to more than $90 per taxpayer. This sales tax is in addition to the significant increase you will be expected to pay as homeowner as a result of recent tax reassessments.

This increased property valuation could cost you as much as See ROADS 5 make Clayton County a showcase of resource for residents and students. Yes, we need a soccertennis complex, but what about a year-round public swimming pool? You should see the conditions our county swimmers are forced to endure this 'the home of Olympian Steve Lund-quist And how about a decent physical education program for our primary schools? Surely improved recreation warrants more than 20 percent ($6 million) of the fund. Again, I urge you to carefully consider your vote an vote NO to the proposed tax referendum. Let our elected officials know that our priorities are not directed toward "Tara" and money in a few select pockets. Instead, tell them our priorities are directed to bettering the quality of life In Clayton County.

NANCY DAVIS $400 or more next year. The referendum proposes to raise $30 million in revenue. Seventy-six percent ($23 million) of that money is slated to fund the "Tara" project a vistors' center and replica of the "Gone With The Wind" plantation. It is projected that this center will bring 600,000 visitors to Clayton County annually. Are we ready for that? Our roads are already congested, our restaurants crowded, and our county poorly equipped to handle the influx without inconveniencing the residents.

Do we want to be the next Furthermore, how morally right is it to perpetuate and glorify a way of life that was very basically wrong to start with (slavery)? This is an insult to our progress in the area of Civil Rights. To further cloud the issue, we are being asked to "mix apples with oranges" and consider the need for funding a soccertennis complex, as well as for providing additional books for our library. Both are worthy projects but should be considered separately from the "Tara" issue and each on its own merit At the very least, these two projects each deserve a larger "piece of the pie." It is this writer's opinion that someone other than Clayton County stands to come out ahead, personally or otherwise, on the project What this county really needs is greater emphasis placed on education and constructive recreation to raise ourselves above the norm for the metro area. Yes, we need library books, but more than $1 million worth (or 3 percent of the proposed tax fund). Let's allocate several million and.