Turning U.S. 27 into a freight bypass around Atlanta is a high priority in the draft Statewide Strategic Transportation Plan crafted by Georgia’s first-ever transportation planning director.

But the 78-page report Todd Long turned in for review by Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia General Assembly states it can’t be done without changes to the way the state funds transportation.

“Current available resources will only fund 50 percent of ‘burning platform’ programs,” the report states. “With this constraint, congestion gets worse statewide, transit services are cut back or eliminated, and Georgia’s value proposition as a location for talent and logistics-oriented businesses deteriorates. The impact overall is lost jobs and lower growth across the state.”

State Transportation Board member David Doss of Rome said the findings support what he’s been saying about the money for several years. The report also presents a strong strategy for reclaiming the state’s edge, if funds are available, he said.

“Todd is on point. He understands that the solution is increased capacity coupled with a transit component,” Doss said.

Click here to see the draft Statewide Strategic Transportation Plan.

“He’s also on point in citing the underinvestment the state has made. My hope is that, now the governor’s transportation planner is saying this, it will carry more weight.”

Long based his plan on the cost-effectiveness of proposed projects, with six vital interstate interchange improvements and connectivity from the port of Savannah falling under the highest-priority “burning platform” category.

The so-called Northwest Bypass, which would use U.S. 27 to link the port with southeast regions outside metro Atlanta, tops the next-highest “supports economic development” tier.

The configuration for the route would include U.S. 27 through Rome and into Tennessee, but first on the DOT to-do list, however, is to keep people and freight moving — maintenance and improvements that would just serve the existing demand.

The Level 1 scenario, which presupposes no change in funding, would provide enough to maintain a basic network of roads and start on the port connectivity and interchange improvements needed to keep freight lines from trying to avoid the state. Transit services would be cut drastically.

Level 2 would draw on new user fees, such as toll lanes, to boost attention to congested metro Atlanta roads and add a bus/rapid transit system for that region.

Levels 3 and 4 would expand road network improvements throughout the state, fully fund transit operations, complete the “burning platform” projects, build the Northwest Bypass and address rail needs for freight and people.

Long’s report states Level 2 funding is “a clear improvement” over the current course but “equally clear is that statewide benefits are not reachable until funding Levels 3 and 4.”

Doss also pointed out the report confirms his predictions that without additional funding, the state will be unable to provide the required match to claim its federal gas tax dollars in 2012. It also shows that Georgia’s 13-cents-per-gallon fuel tax is the second-lowest in the nation and far below competing states such as Alabama and Tennessee (21 cents) and Florida (35 cents).

“The cold, hard fact is that we have to find a way to pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements in this state, but the political courage to do it has not been demonstrated by our elected officials,” Doss said. “They dance around and say it’s not the right time to raise taxes. There’s never a right time to raise taxes, but we’ve already reached the point where we’ve jeopardized our state in terms of economic development.”

The $175 million U.S. 411 Connector is just one of Floyd County’s pending projects that can’t be funded under the current system, he said, and the proposed East-West Connector and Northwest Bypass remain pipe dreams.

“These are not luxuries. These are critical infrastructure projects we’re not getting to do,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to a revenue stream that allows us to invest in the infrastructure, and that’s the point Todd’s making.”

The governor and the House and Senate transportation committees have until Feb. 15 to comment on the draft strategic plan. A final version is due by April 10.

Under Senate Bill 200, passed in the 2009 legislative session, transportation projects will be funded based on how they are prioritized in the plan.