SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says proceeds from a potential fuel tax hike to increase Tennessee’s transportation funding should not be limited to road projects.
The Republican governor told The Associated Press in a recent interview that public transit needs to be part of the equation, especially amid the increasing gridlock in Nashville and surrounding Middle Tennessee counties.
The governor acknowledged that big transit projects are made more difficult because “federal money has dried up,” and the state doesn’t have as many resources to address the issue.
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean in January abandoned his $175 million proposal to create 7-mile bus rapid transit route called the Amp that would have connected the eastern and western sections of the city through downtown on designated lanes.
