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Pricey change at Holcomb Bridge interchange may be hard to fund

By PAUL KAPLAN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/14/07

Most of the talk swirling around Roswell East, Charlie Brown's $2 billion megaproject, has focused on his plan to build high-rise towers in a city that has no tall buildings.

But for Brown, a potentially higher hurdle has emerged. Improvements to the interchange of Ga. 400 and Holcomb Bridge Road aren't on the regional planning agency's 25-year wish list.

The biggest project in Roswell's history now hinges largely on a road improvement that isn't even on the land where the development would be built.

Roswell Mayor Jere Wood says he can't support the development without a major improvement to the interchange at Ga. 400 and Holcomb Bridge Road.

Brown's high-density project would feed traffic onto both of those roads, which are already overburdened.

"I support his proposal, provided we do an interchange improvement at the same time," Wood said. "Charlie Brown has some thoughts on that, but we need [more]. We need to have a commitment. This isn't a matter of faith."

But a commitment from whom?

Brown's vision of a flyover bridge to feed westbound Holcomb Bridge traffic directly onto southbound 400 would cost a fortune. There are no official estimates, but it would cost much more than either Brown or Roswell could likely afford. And the interchange is not on the Atlanta Regional Commission's 25-year wish list of road projects to fund.

So what will Wood and Brown do?

"You go down on your knees and you beg," Wood said. "You go to the Department of Transportation, you go to the Atlanta Regional Commission, you go to the governor, you go to your local representative, your senator, your congressman. You get on your knees and beg."

Brown knows the drill.

Ask the veteran deal-maker what he actually does at his company, CRB Realty, and he says, "Tilt at windmills."

What he means is that the development process is fraught with roadblocks, and you have to work through each of them, one by one. The bigger the project, the taller the roadblocks, and Roswell East is big.

Brown had hoped to present his project to the city, get it approved and then push for funding for the interchange improvement. But without Wood's support, that approach appears dead.

"Charlie would like to get his project started without this interchange, but I don't think the public will support it without a large improvement," Wood said.

Brown is not shrinking from the task. He points out that Holcomb Bridge connects Fulton to three counties — Cobb, Cherokee and Gwinnett — and that 400 connects Fulton and Forsyth counties, so he expects support from several stakeholders.

"This is a regional situation, a regional crossroads, so it's reasonable to expect a regional solution," Brown said.

Roswell has asked the ARC to add the Holcomb Bridge/400 interchange to its priority list, but road money is getting tighter, not looser. Because of a projected shortfall in state road funds, more projects are coming off the list than are being added to it.

A $2 billion development would generate a lot of tax revenue, however, and Wood thinks the potential revenue could give Roswell a leg up in getting the interchange rebuilt.

"It's easier to do it if you've got money coming to the city, county and state from a project — there are a lot more financing options," Wood said.

One option would be support from the city, and Wood has not ruled that out. Roswell has commissioned its own study of the interchange and will be getting feedback soon on how best to build the flyover and what it would cost.

But Wood would need support from the City Council, and several members are already dubious about the height and density of Brown's proposed project. An expensive road addition tossed in could push the whole package over the edge, so it's not Wood's preferred approach.

"Who pays for it I haven't resolved yet," he said. "My first preference is to use other people's money."