Atlanta
(2012-02-10)
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ATLANTA, GA
(WABE) -
The new data comes as no surprise. Since 2006, metro Atlanta has lost more construction jobs than just about every city in the country.
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These days in Atlanta, it's a rare sight. Cranes raising beams high in the air, workers in hard hats shouting orders, heavy machinery moving chunks of earth.
A 23-story apartment complex is being built in Midtown. It's one of only two construction projects going on in the area.
"At the height of our construction in '06, we'd have not just dozens but 30 or 40 of these things. And today you certainly don't see that around Atlanta," said Michael Dunham of the Associated General Contractors of Georgia.
Dunham says since 2006, Atlanta has lost nearly 60,000 construction jobs - 5th highest in the country.
To get back on track, he says July's T-SPLOST referendum is critical. If passed, it would increase the sales tax in metro Atlanta by a penny, and it would generate roughly $7 billion for new transportation projects.
"With that passage we'll start the creation of a transportation system that will boost our economy for a generation and the jobs that will come out of that will certainly help us," said Dunham.
Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed have partnered to promote the transportation tax, but recent disagreements over who will oversee the funds has threatened to fracture the alliance. © Copyright 2012, WABE
