Athens City Council proposes levy to widen East State Street

by Emily Patterson
For The Post

On the Nov. 6 ballot is Levy 4, Athens City Council's proposal to introduce a new income tax to pay for the completion of the East State Street widening project.

This 10 year .1 percent tax would fund the third part of the three-phase construction project to widen East State Street from three lanes to five lanes from Long John Silvers, 921 East State Street, to Cook Drive.

If the levy does not pass, the city government will have to wait another year before applying for more grant money, said councilman Mike McSteen, D-at-large.

All three stages of the construction would not be able to be completed at the same time, and construction would be extended, making the project more expensive to complete, said councilman Dale Tampke, D-at-large.

"I encourage everyone to vote for the levy because it will be a great improvement for Athens," McSteen said.

There has been talk about widening East State Street ever since University Mall was built 20 years ago.

A similar .1 percent, 10-year income tax for road improvements has been in effect for the past eight years. The tax from the new levy would act as an extension of the existing tax, with a two-year overlap where the combined rate from the two taxes would be .2 percent, Tampke said.

The first two phases of the construction already have been paid for by state grants and funds saved by the city. Competitive grants for road improvements have helped fund much of the construction. The city has already raised four million dollars and needs another three-and a half million to finish the last phase of construction.

In addition to the money from the grants, the City of Athens has been saving money from taxes paid by University Mall and license plate fees, Tampke said.

The street needs widening because on Fridays and Saturdays, the traffic is severely backed up, said Ray Hazlett, assistant director of the Athens service-safety department.

"The idea is to reduce delays and move traffic through," Hazlett said.

New developments on East State Street will make the traffic congestion worse, he said. The widening of the street will help to accommodate the new Wal-Mart and Ruby Tuesday restaurant that are being built on East State Street. Eventually there will be new stores on the south side of the street all the way out to University Mall, Hazlett said. After the improvements are made to the street, interconnected traffic signals will help speed up traffic during peak times.