A $40M pair of bridge replacements—with $5M planned from impact fees

Atlanta City Council has adopted a five-year capital plan listing an estimated $40 million for two bridge replacements—with development impact fees slated to cover $5 million of that amount. The Oct. 19 vote was 15–0.⁠[1][2]

The larger entry is the $30 million Central Avenue Bridge replacement between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Decatur Street, with $3 million chargeable to impact fees. Its scope includes lighting, approach repairs and signal upgrades. The $10 million West Lake Avenue Bridge replacement would cross CSX and MARTA tracks near I-20 and MLK Drive, incorporating a sidewalk and shared-use path; its planned impact-fee share is $2 million.⁠[2]

Our earlier committee preview could not identify the projects because the exhibit was missing from the pages reviewed. The committee amendment added Exhibit A, and that schedule now supplies the project-level choices behind ordinance 26-O-1569. The 2027–2031 Capital Improvements Element connects projected needs with schedules and anticipated funding sources—not just impact fees.⁠[3][4][5]

Other new transportation entries include a $6.1 million Huber Street extension to Fairmont Avenue in Blandtown, creating a road connection and sidewalk between Huff Road and Chattahoochee Avenue. The schedule lists $4.3 million as chargeable to impact fees. On Campbellton Road, it lists approximately $18.17 million for pedestrian accommodations and minor widening over 2.1 miles between Enon and Campground roads, with a $3 million impact-fee share.⁠[2]

Parkland entries show a different funding mix. The $13 million Northside Buckhead Reserve acquisition and site-development project anticipates $2 million from impact fees, $5 million from the Tree Trust Fund and $6 million from private donors. Two new District 11 entries—the $226,000 Campbellton NRI Park acquisition and $2 million Southwest Atlanta Parklands Expansion—list impact fees for their full estimated costs.⁠[2]

For police facilities, the schedule adds a $350,000 internal workspace expansion at the existing Zone 1 precinct, entirely chargeable to impact fees. A separate $7 million land-acquisition entry is intended to support a future standalone Zone 6 precinct. Impact fees would cover half; the source for the other half is listed as “TBD.”⁠[2]

Every new entry described here is listed in the planning phase, with a schedule running from 2027 through 2031. Those dates and funding shares are projections, not promised opening dates. The records reviewed do not establish that all funding is secured or construction contracts have been awarded for these entries.⁠[2][5]

Council adoption is established; the plan’s effective status is not. The ordinance requires both Council adoption and mayoral approval to take effect, and the records reviewed do not establish the mayor’s approval.⁠[1][5]