Homing in on a new DOT commissioner
Bill Kuhlke, chairman of the board that (sort of) governs the state Department of Transportation, said eight formal applications have been received for the job of DOT commissioner. A search committee will interview candidates next week, and a decision is expected by June 18.
But Dick Anderson, director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, has told my AJC colleague Ariel Hart that he has taken his name out of contention for the post.
That means means state Rep. Vance Smith, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has the inside track. Smith sought the commissioner’s job in 2007, but lost to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s choice, Gena Abraham.
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10 comments Add your comment
Wall Fly
June 2nd, 2009
7:33 pm
Vance Smith is not the most astute fellow regarding the workings of federal transportation policy and regulatory requirements.
Montana
June 2nd, 2009
10:33 pm
LOLz, no doubt why he broke R-anks to vote against creating that other board to govern transport. Wall Fly, I agree with you and also accuse him of green-posery or wanton ignorance in his proposal for high-speed rail between Atl & Chatt — as much as I’d love to see it, I can’t imagine how Vance proposes to acquire enough rights of way to build a whole new, ultra-straight track that maglev requires.
Vance Man
June 3rd, 2009
9:47 am
FYI Montana, maglev requires very little new right-of-way. It will use the existing I-75 right-of-way and be built in the median.Linking Chattanooga to Atlanta to Macon to Savannah with a 310mph train is an expensive proposition but it is a visionary idea. Linking Georgia’s two largest cities, linking the ports to Hartsfield will have dramatic economic impact as well as being a boom to tourism. And it is sexy technology that will be a symbol for a progressive thinking Georgia as opposed to the obstructionist, do-nothing image of Sonny Perdue. Vance will be a breath of fresh air!
FormerDot
June 3rd, 2009
11:33 am
Vance Man is right….It’ll be politices as usual when “Mr. Smith goes to GDOT”
DannyX
June 3rd, 2009
11:37 am
Vance Smith has been part of the power base that helped create the mess we are in. One of the good ol’ boys that have neglected Atlanta and funneled money to Columbus area projects. He helped build a network of useless four lane highways in rural Georgia. This guy is the poster boy for the Atlanta metro area transportation mess. He’s part of the power base that allowed the dot to become grossly incompetent.
Those of us in the metro area need to remember this when its time to cast our ballot for Governor next election.
Dave
June 3rd, 2009
11:40 am
Just get the “brain train” from Atlanta to Athens underway. Make it mag-lev and it’d be the top economic development project the state has ever undertaken — a golden goose for decades to come.
Fixed Guideway Planner
June 3rd, 2009
12:22 pm
To: Vance Man – The horizontal and vertical curves of an Interstate highway are too sharp for high speed rail and especially for Mag-lev. Passenger comfort is critical in public transportation system operation and using the median of an Interstate highway to accomodate fast trains will result in a ride for passengers which is more thrilling than would be publicly acceptable.
If electrified high-speed rail is too expensive for implementation in areas other than the Northeast Corridor where passenger demand is high, then the expense of electrified Mag-lev is completely prohibitive.
More highways
June 3rd, 2009
2:25 pm
So lets do nothing except build more and more and more and more and more highways to drive our GM and Chrysler cars on. To heck with progressive transportation ideas. We want asphalt and lots of it!
Vance Man
June 3rd, 2009
3:46 pm
Fixed Guideway Planner: Read what I said… “Very little new right-of-way” will be required. The overwhelming majority of the existing I-75 corridor is well within the performance capabilities of maglev. It appears you have never riden on this technology. I have. In fact, we went from a 6 degree right-hand bank into a 12 degree left-hand bank at 180km and I could walk down the center aisle with a drink in my hand had I had one, and never spilled a drop. But this is not a debate about maglev, its about Vance Smith. And those who say he is part of the “Good Ole Boy” network must be on glue! As a member of the minority party for most of his career, he is hardly part of the Good Old Boys. Thats a Gena Evans cheap shot if ever I heard one.
Sandy
June 3rd, 2009
4:17 pm
Vance is the worst. He is from Warm Springs and a dirt mover,he only wants to build roads in south georgia. He would do nothing for metro Atlanta. He would be a failure.