The Atlanta area’s, and Georgia’s, transportation problems could end up costing some Atlanta jobs.

A recent study conducted by McKinsey & Co. recently found problems with the city and state’s transportation systems could cost a total of 320,000 possible jobs and $514 billion in economic benefits during the next 20 years. This is the likely scenario, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, if the state sticks to its usual business.

Particularly in the Atlanta area, traffic jams and the lack of access to reliable transportation could limit the number of jobs people can commute to, as well as limit the number of potential workers an employer can attract. At the same time, this could make Atlanta a less attractive market for employers. Commercial freight hauling also is expected to worsen in places like the Savannah port.

To redeem $515 billion in benefits, Georgia would have to invest up to $250.7 billion during the next 20 years in transportation. This is $49.2 billion to $161.9 billion short of the amount of money government officials expect to spend.

To improve its transportation, the state could build innovate projects and coordinate projects better with Atlanta’s development patters. If done successfully, this could create 230,000 jobs during the next 30 years and bring in $345 billion in benefits.

“Over the last 10 to 20 years, Georgia has under-managed and under-invested in its assets,” the article notes.

The study suggests a three-pronged strategy to relieve congestion in metro Atlanta and other metro areas in Georgia, help economic development in rural areas, and improve freight transportation. The strategy includes many possibilities, from congestion-priced fluctuating tolls on HOV lanes to express bus systems and local street cars and road expansion.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm and is filed under jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.