Misplaced Pages

#354645

79-619: The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes (formerly Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT ) and locally known as the Tollercoaster , is a completed Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project which has put Peach Pass -only toll lanes along Interstate 75 (I-75) and I-575 in the northwestern suburbs of the Atlanta metropolitan area . It carries traffic between northwest Atlanta and Cobb and Cherokee counties by adding two lanes for paying vehicles along I-75, with one continuing up

158-478: A 1% tax to lower property taxes , but only for the public school budget, and not the additional 1% HOST homestead exemption for general funds. The county has also voted not to pay the extra 1% to join MARTA . At the beginning of 2006, Cobb became the last county in the state to raise the tax to 6%, which also doubled the tax on food to 2%. The SPLOST barely passed by a 114 vote margin, or less than one-quarter of

237-608: A dedicated exit onto I-575 to Sixes Road (mile 11, former exit 6), and the other straight on I-75 to Hickory Grove Road, just past Wade Green Road (mile 273, former exit 118). North of the interchange where they split, the new lanes are located in the median , between the original northbound and southbound lanes. From the Perimeter ( I-285 on the north side) to I-575, the road had already been built with 12 to 16 lanes, which required other plans, including via eminent domain . HOV-only exits would be built at roads which currently cross

316-418: A family was $ 78,920. Males had a median income of $ 55,200 versus $ 43,367 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 33,110. About 7.6% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, there were 697,553 people, 248,303 households, and 169,178 families residing in the county. The population density

395-570: A few freeways due to inability to get these roads onto the state highway system. The Freeing the Freeways program is the largest urban expressway reconstruction project of the late 20th century. The program involved widening the all the interstate highways within the beltway of Atlanta . The Federal Highway Act of 1976 allowed states for the first time to use federal highway dollars to widen and build new interchanges on existing highways. This change to federal policy and subsequent similar changes in

474-532: A lane in each direction for 21.3 miles of I-85 to HOV lanes. The first HOV lanes to open were on I-20 from the Connector east to I-285 . In June 1996, in anticipation of the 1996 Summer Olympics , HOV lanes opened on I-75 and I-85 from Aviation Boulevard on I-75 north to the Chattahoochee River and I-85 from the Connector north to I-285. This marked the true end of Freeing the Freeways as all

553-608: A major arm of the lake. Proctor Creek forms the much older Lake Acworth , which in turn empties directly into Lake Allatoona under the Lake Acworth Drive ( Georgia 92 ) bridge. North Cobb is in the Coosa River basin. There are several high points in Cobb County. Despite the lack of a grid system of city blocks though the county, all street addresses have their numeric origin at the southwest corner of

632-519: A percent, in a September 2005 referendum . The revenue was to go to a new county courthouse , expanded jail, various transportation projects, and the purchasing of property for parks and green space. In 2008, the school tax was renewed for a third term, funding the Marietta and Cobb school systems . The Cobb County School District is Cobb County's largest employer, employing over 15,000 people. Private corporations include: Shopping centers in

711-424: A project to install an exit ramp between the southern terminus of the express lanes and Akers Mill Road. The new ramp would improve access to Cumberland Boulevard from the express lanes. Cobb County's Department of Transportation expects to begin construction of the ramp in 2021. The mile markings of the express lanes shares the same numbering as the mainline interstates. The exits are not numbered. The entire route

790-471: A seven-member board of education. In addition to the county sheriff, the constitutional chief law enforcement officer of the county, Cobb County has a separate police department under the authority of the Board of Commissioners. The sheriff oversees the jail , to which everyone arrested under state law is taken, regardless of the city or other area of the county where it happens, or which police department makes

869-480: A small 911 call center ( PSAP ) upstairs in Kennesaw city hall , dispatching the police departments in both cities, and forwarding fire calls to Cobb. Smyrna operates a separate PSAP while offering dispatch services to the city of Powder Springs. Austell operates its own separate 911 system. The county retails potable water to much of the county and wholesales it to various cities. The current County Manager

SECTION 10

#1732797873355

948-487: A statewide Airfield Pavement Management Study which evaluates the pavement at 103 airports in the state. Recommendations include a 5-year maintenance work program for each airport and documentation of the needs for state funds to maintain the airport infrastructure. Georgia DOT is governed by a 14-member State Transportation Board that is elected by the Georgia General Assembly for a five-year term and

1027-411: Is 013067, for receiving targeted weather warnings from NOAA Weather Radio . The county is primarily within the broadcast range of one weather radio station: KEC80, on 162.550 MHz, transmitted to all of metro Atlanta and broadcast from NWSFO Peachtree City . The secondary station is the much newer WWH23 on 162.425 from Buchanan , which also transmits warnings for Cobb but has reception mainly in

1106-504: Is Jackie R. McMorris. From 1964 until 2012 , the county was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. The only time during this period that the county supported a Democrat was in 1976 when native son Jimmy Carter swept every county in the state. Before 1960 , it was a " Solid South " Democratic county, except when Warren G. Harding came close to carrying it in 1920 , and when Herbert Hoover won it by nine points due to anti-Catholic voting against Al Smith in 1928 . In

1185-403: Is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia , and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous county, after Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Its county seat is Marietta ; its largest city is Mableton . Along with several adjoining counties, Cobb County

1264-483: Is believed that Marietta was named for his wife, Mary. Cobb County is included in the Atlanta metropolitan area and is situated immediately to the northwest of Atlanta's city limits. Its Cumberland District , an edge city , has over 24 million square feet (2,200,000 m ) of office space. Major League Baseball 's Atlanta Braves have played home games at Truist Park in Cumberland since 2017. In 2003,

1343-517: Is elected county-wide. The other four commissioners are elected from single-member districts. The board hires a county manager who oversees the day-to-day operations of the county's executive departments . County residents also elect a sheriff, district attorney, probate court judge, clerk of the superior court, clerk of the state court, state court solicitor, chief magistrate judge (who then appoints other magistrate court judges), superior court judges, state court judges, tax commissioner, surveyor, and

1422-551: Is headed by a commissioner chosen from among the board members. The board's powers include designating which public roads are encompassed within the state highway system; approving long-range transportation plans; overseeing the administration of construction contracts; and authorizing lease agreements. Offices within the board, other than Commissioner, are Deputy Commissioner; Chief Engineer and Treasurer. The Georgia Department of Transportation has several different divisions. They include: Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County

1501-565: Is in Cobb County . Georgia Department of Transportation GDOT has broken up the state of Georgia into seven districts in order to facilitate regional development. Each district is responsible for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of the state and federal highways in their region. The State Highway Department was created on August 16, 1916 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. In 1918 came

1580-569: Is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km ) (1.4%) is water. The county is located in the upper Piedmont region of the state, with a few mountains located within the county, considered to be part of the southernmost extensions of the Appalachian Mountains . The county is divided between two major basins . Most runoff flows into the Middle Chattahoochee - Lake Harding and Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basins of

1659-609: Is responsible for developing, managing, and administering programs to satisfy these goals. The Georgia Airport Aid Program is designed to provide financial assistance to communities in accomplishing capital improvement, airfield maintenance, and approach aid projects. Capital improvement projects include new, extension or widening of a runway, taxiway , or aircraft parking apron. Maintenance projects include resurfacing or reconstruction of runways, taxiways, and aprons, repair of lighting systems and approach aids, and sealing of joints and cracks on airfield pavements. Approach aid projects include

SECTION 20

#1732797873355

1738-616: Is responsible for waterways, including the Intracoastal Waterway and the Savannah and Brunswick ports. The state of Georgia has 1,244 miles (2,002 km) of Interstate highways within its state lines. Georgia's major Interstate Highways are I-95 , I-75 , I-16 , I-85 , and I-20 . Other important interstate highways are I-24 and I-59 . I-285 is Atlanta 's perimeter route and I-575 connects with counties in north Georgia on I-75 and I-675 connects to I-285 on

1817-497: The 1996 Summer Olympics . I-75 and I-85 (as well as their Downtown Connector concurrency) were built with provisions for high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) including dedicated exits and on-ramps at Northside Drive, Lindbergh Drive, Williams Street, Piedmont Avenue , Memorial Drive, and Aviation Boulevard. In 1989, the Georgia Department of Transportation estimated it would cost just under $ 430,000 to convert

1896-518: The ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin) along the southeastern border, directly via Willeo Creek , Sope Creek (Sewell Creek), Rottenwood Creek (Powers Creek, Poorhouse Creek, Poplar Creek), Nickajack Creek and others. The large Sweetwater Creek is the other major stream, carrying the waters of Noses Creek (Ward Creek, Olley Creek, Mud Creek), Powder Springs Creek (Rakestraw Creek, Mill Creek) and others into

1975-725: The American Civil War , some Confederate troops were trained at a camp in Big Shanty (now Kennesaw), where the Andrews Raid occurred, starting the Great Locomotive Chase . There were battles of New Hope Church May 25, 1864, Pickett's Mill May 27, and Dallas May 28. These were followed by the prolonged series of battles through most of June 1864 until very early July: the Battle of Marietta and

2054-476: The Battle of Noonday Creek . The Battle of Allatoona Pass on October 5, 1864, occurred as Sherman was starting his march through Georgia . Union forces burnt most houses and confiscated or burnt crops. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864, was the site of the only major Confederate victory in General William T. Sherman 's invasion of Georgia. Despite the victory, Union forces outflanked

2133-539: The C-130 Hercules and the C-5 Galaxy . "In Cobb County and other sprawling Cold War suburbs from Orange County to Norfolk / Hampton Roads , the direct link between federal defense spending and local economic prosperity structured a bipartisan political culture of hawkish conservatism and material self-interest on issues of national security." When county home rule was enacted statewide by amendment to

2212-465: The Georgia state constitution in the early 1960s, Ernest W. Barrett became the first chairman of the new county commission . The county courthouse , built in 1888, was demolished, spurring a law that now prevents counties from doing so without a referendum . In the 1960s and 1970s, Cobb transformed from rural to suburban , as integration spurred white flight from the city of Atlanta, which by 1970

2291-534: The Olympic Torch Relay . The county's inns were nevertheless filled at 100% of capacity for two months during the event. In the 1990s and 2000s, Cobb's demographics changed. As Atlanta's gentrification reversed decades of white flight, middle-class African-Americans and Russian, Bosnian, Chinese, Indian, Brazilian, Mexican, and Central American immigrants moved to older suburbs in south and southwest Cobb. In 2010, African-American Democrat David Scott

2370-653: The Rockefellers and the Soviet Union to impose "socialist-one-world-government" and co-founded the Western Goals Foundation . In 1983, McDonald died aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 , shot down by a Soviet fighter jet over restricted airspace. I-75 through the county is now named for him. In 1990, Republican Congressmen Newt Gingrich became Representative of a new district centered around Cobb County. In 1994, as Republicans took control of

2449-490: The exurban exchanges (including Canton) were fully made a part of what was already the world's largest toll-free calling zone. It is a zone spanning 7,162 square miles (18,549 km ), with four active telephone area codes , and local calling extending into portions of two others. Cobb's FIPS county code is 13067. Because the National Weather Service has not subdivided the county, its WRSAME code

Northwest Corridor Express Lanes - Misplaced Pages Continue

2528-432: The rail system are classified as "mainline track". Some Georgia mainlines transport more than 80 million gross tons per year, ranking them among the most heavily used in the country. Aviation Programs is tasked to assure a safe, adequate, and well-maintained system of public-use airports, to promote and encourage the use of aviation facilities, to guide airport development, to promote viable scheduled air service throughout

2607-543: The town square in Marietta. Originally in area code 404 , the county was moved into area code 770 in 1995, and overlaid by area code 678 in 1998. Before 1995, those with phones tied to the Woodstock telephone exchange (prefixes 924, 926, 928, later 516 and 591) could also call the Canton exchange (479, later 445, then 704) as a local call. This became moot, along with other dual-zone exchanges in metro Atlanta, when

2686-403: The 1978 Surface Transportation Assistance Act and 1981 Federal-Aid Highway Act allowed Georgia to rebuild metro Atlanta interstates with 90/10 federal support. The project cost $ 1.5 billion and doubled Atlanta's freeway lane miles from 900 to 1,851 miles (1,448 to 2,979 km). The project sought to increase lanes from six to eight on I-20 , I-75, I-85 , and I-285 and 10 lanes on

2765-619: The Chattahoochee. A ridge from Lost Mountain in the west, to Kennesaw Mountain in the north-central, to Sweat Mountain in the extreme northeast, divides the far north-northwest of the county into the Etowah River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin), which includes Lake Allatoona . Noonday Creek (Little Noonday Creek) flows northward into the lake, as does Allatoona Creek , which forms

2844-600: The Confederates. In 1915, Leo Frank , the Jewish supervisor of an Atlanta pencil factory who was convicted of murdering one of his workers, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan, was kidnapped from his jail cell and brought to Frey's Gin, two miles (3.2 km) east of Marietta, where he was lynched. Cotton farming in the area peaked from the 1890s through the 1920s. Low prices during the Great Depression resulted in

2923-666: The Downtown Connector opened in November 1988. While not officially part of Freeing the Freeways, over the next few years into the early 1990s, several of the suburban interstates would be widened including I-75 in Cobb County from Windy Hill Road to I-575 and I-85 in Gwinnett County from I-285 to SR 316 . I-285's northern arc would get another lane in each direction. All these projects contributed to Atlanta having world class infrastructure and being selected to host

3002-465: The Downtown Connector. Work on the eight miles (13 km) Connector began in 1984. The project widened the Connector to 10 lanes, which included the design and construction of 55 bridges over the connector. GDOT policy mandated that there were never fewer lanes open during construction as existed before construction which added to the cost and time devoted to the Downtown section. The final segment of

3081-838: The Georgia Airport Directory and the Georgia Aeronautical Chart in alternating years. Georgia was designated by the FAA as the 10th participant in the State Block Grant Program beginning October 1, 2008. This mandates the department to accept and administer millions of dollars in federal funding for improvements at federally eligible general aviation airports. Aviation Programs assumes additional responsibility for project oversight, airport planning, compliance, and environmental review at these airports. The Airport Development program

3160-624: The State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority . A majority of the department's resources are directed toward maintaining and improving the state's network of roads and bridges. Proceeds from the state's motor fuel taxes are constitutionally earmarked solely for use on Georgia's roads and bridges. Non-road and bridge construction projects are supported by a combination of state general funds, federal funds, and local funds. The department

3239-550: The U.S. Census Bureau ranked Cobb County as the most educated in the state of Georgia and 12th-most in the United States. It has ranked among the top 100 highest-income counties in the United States. In October 2017, Cobb was ranked as the "Least Obese County in Georgia." Cobb County is one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia according to the 2020 US Census. Cobb County was one of nine Georgia counties carved out of

Northwest Corridor Express Lanes - Misplaced Pages Continue

3318-508: The U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in almost fifty years, Gingrich became Speaker of the House , thrusting Cobb County into the national spotlight. In 1993, county commissioners passed a resolution condemning homosexuality and cutting off funding for the arts after complaints about a community theater. After protests from gay rights organizations, organizers of the 1996 Summer Olympics pulled events out of Cobb County, including

3397-407: The age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.6% were non-families, and 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.17. The median age was 35.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 65,522 and the median income for

3476-402: The age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25. In the county, 26.10% of the population

3555-484: The arrest. Each city has a separate police department, answerable to its governing council. Marietta, Smyrna, and Austell have separate fire departments , with the Cobb County Fire Department being the authority having jurisdiction over Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs, and unincorporated areas. Cobb 911 covers unincorporated areas and the city of Marietta. Kennesaw and Acworth jointly operate

3634-437: The cessation of cotton farming throughout Cobb County. The price of cotton went from 16¢ per pound (35¢/kg) in 1920 to 9½¢ (21¢/kg) in 1930. This resulted in a cotton bust for the county, which had stopped growing the product but was milling it. This bust was followed by the Great Depression . To help combat the bust, the state started work on a road in 1922 that would later become U.S. 41 , later replaced by Cobb Parkway in

3713-501: The construction when it took place within the beltway. Construction began on the northern arc of I-285 from Paces Ferry Road just west of I-75 to Chamblee Tucker Road just east of I-85 in 1976, and it was completed by 1978. The radiating expressways were then upgraded. By July of 1985, I-75 and I-85 had both been widened from the Brookwood Split to north to their interchanges with I-285. The only section of major interstates that

3792-635: The county include: The Consulate-General of Costa Rica in Atlanta is located in Suite 100 at 1870 The Exchange in an unincorporated section of Cobb County. Until 1971, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad , running on tracks now owned by CSX, operated passenger trains through Marietta depot . Cobb County is not part of the MARTA Rail network, because its voters rejected MARTA development in

3871-405: The county system. Under Georgia's home rule provision, county governments have free rein to legislate on all matters within the county, provided that such legislation does not conflict with state or federal laws or constitutions. Cobb County is governed by a five-member board of commissioners , which has both legislative and executive authority within the county. The chairman of the board

3950-419: The county was 62.21% white, 24.96% black or African American, 4.46% Asian, 0.34% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.28% from other races, and 2.71% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 12.26% of the population. Regarding specific ethnic origins, 10.4% cited German, 10.0% English, 9.3% Irish, and 8.6% American ancestry. Of the 260,056 households, 36.7% had children under

4029-676: The creation of the Georgia State Highway Commission , which made surveys and oversaw plans for road projects. Finally, in 1972, came the creation of the Georgia Department of Transportation by Governor Jimmy Carter . The Georgia Department of Transportation plans, constructs, maintains, and improves the state's road and bridges; provides planning and financial support for other modes of transportation such as mass transit and airports; provides airport and air safety planning; and provides air travel to state departments. The department also provides administrative support to

SECTION 50

#1732797873355

4108-608: The disputed territory of the Cherokee Nation in 1832. It was the 81st county in Georgia and named for Judge Thomas Willis Cobb , who served as a U.S. Senator, state representative, and superior court judge. It is believed that the county seat of Marietta was named for Judge Cobb's wife, Mary. The state started acquiring right-of-way for the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1836. A train began running between Marietta and Marthasville (modern-day Atlanta) in 1845. During

4187-457: The downtown connector involved 125 total miles (201 km) and was phased over 13 years between 1976 and 1988. During this time, auxiliary interstates in the Atlanta metropolitan area would be constructed and open including Interstate 575 (construction began in 1979 and was completed in 1985) and Interstate 675 (construction began in 1982 and was completed in 1987). Widening of I-285 took place first, in order to allow drivers to bypass

4266-411: The early 1970s. This has led to a significant shift of road responsibility from state responsibility to local governments. This is because the state highway system has not been allowed to grow in proportion to the massive overall road system growth due to rapid population increases statewide over the past 40 years. This has left many urbanized counties forced to maintain many miles of arterial routes and

4345-408: The enormous cost of the plan (around four billion dollars), in summer 2009 it was scaled back to putting two barrier-separated reversible lanes on I-75 to I-575, and one in the median on each road north of there. There would no longer be HOV exits on I-575, just slip roads to northbound and from southbound lanes for access to and from regular exits. It was not stated how much land would be taken on

4424-518: The first non-Georgian Democrat since John F. Kennedy in 1960. The county then supported Joe Biden in 2020 by 14 points–the best showing for a Democrat since Kennedy in 1960. This was crucial to Biden winning the state for the Democrats for the first time since 1992 . In 2018 , Stacey Abrams became the first Democrat to win Cobb County in a gubernatorial election since 1986 , when Joe Frank Harris swept every county statewide. In 2020, in

4503-412: The highway by another six lanes (including emergency lanes ). Separating traffic was proposed because it would smooth traffic and make the main lanes safer for cars. However, it would also effectively end the subsidy the industry gets by using roads which are mainly paid for by the public (in contrast with railroads, which maintain their own tracks and pay per-mile taxes on them on top of that). Citing

4582-479: The highways, but have no access to it. Bus stations would also be built at these points, with park-and-ride parking lots . New lanes would be divided from the regular ones by concrete barriers , not just by white double-stripes as was done by GDOT inside the Perimeter. There were originally no plans to allow or even design for later contraflow lane usage for rush hours . There were also plans to add two truck -only lanes in each direction, further expanding

4661-448: The junction of Interstate 85 and Interstate 285 on the northeast side of Atlanta, began in 1983. The first flyover ramp opened in 1985 and the interchange was completed in 1987. The other intersection of I-285 and I-85 on the southwest corner of Atlanta was originally constructed as a concurrency in the 1960s. When completed in 1989, the newly widened I-285 and I-85 had separate parallel roadways. The final phases of construction were on

4740-610: The late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1942, Bell Aircraft opened a Marietta plant to manufacture B-29 bombers and Marietta Army Airfield was founded. Both were closed after World War II but reopened during the Korean War when the Air Force acquired the airfield, renamed Dobbins AFB, and the plant by Lockheed . During the Korean and Vietnam Wars , Lockheed Marietta was the leading manufacturer of military transport planes, including

4819-471: The late 20th century, the county developed a reputation as a conservative stronghold. However, due to rapid racial and ethnic demographic changes since the 1990s, along with population growth coming from blue northern states, the county has increasingly supported the Democratic Party. In 2016 , when Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to win Cobb County since Jimmy Carter in 1976 , and

SECTION 60

#1732797873355

4898-433: The list. The Board's attorney stated there was no probable cause and gave reasons. After a brief discussion, the board voted unanimously to deny the challenge. In addition to the 4% statewide sales tax , Cobb County levies an additional 2% for special projects, each 1% subject to separate renewal every few years by countywide referendum (including within its cities). This funds mainly transportation and parks. Cobb levies

4977-550: The northeast express lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett , the northwest lanes charge a toll for high-occupancy vehicles and alternative-fuel vehicles . In 2018, the trade publication Roads & Bridges named the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes the number one road project of 2018 in the United States. The United States Department of Transportation awarded Cobb County a grant that will help pay for

5056-596: The poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over. School districts include: Cobb County maintains the Cobb County Public Library System . The libraries provide resources such as books, videos, internet access, printing, and computer classes. The libraries in the CCPLS are: The Smyrna Public Library is a city-owned library in Smyrna and is not part of

5135-524: The purchase and installation of glide slopes , localizers , visual guidance , and automated weather reporting equipment . The Aviation Planning program participates in individual airport planning projects, and, on a statewide basis, maintain the Georgia Aviation System Plan, which reviews the state system of airports and make recommendations on their development that would benefit statewide development goals. We routinely maintain

5214-428: The south side of Atlanta. I-475 is a western bypass of Macon , shortening the trip for through I-75 traffic. The Georgia Department of Transportation maintains only 16 percent of the roads in the state. The other 84 percent are the responsibility of the counties and cities; 75 percent of those roads are county roads . GDOT maintains approximately 18,000 miles of state routes and has maintained this mileage cap since

5293-480: The southern portion. There was already a provision for a future HOV exit in the median at the Terrell Mill Road underpass , however the remainder has no median, only a wide left shoulder and a concrete barrier. It was also left unknown how the lanes would tie into the interchange at I-285. The project was completed and opened to traffic on September 8, 2018. The Cobb County bus system ( CobbLinc ) and

5372-738: The state's railroad system is operated by 25 independent or short-line operators. The DOT owns nearly 540 miles of light density rail line. Approximately 90 percent of the 540 miles is leased to a shortline operator. The remaining 10 percent is leased to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for use as a bicycle and pedestrian trail, is inactive, or is not leased. Norfolk Southern has approximately 851 miles of light density lines and CSX has another 242 miles. Georgia's light density lines carry less than 5 million gross tons of freight per year and function as local shortline service operators, primarily in rural agricultural areas. 2,463 miles of

5451-399: The state, and to foster safer operating conditions at these facilities. Aviation Programs is responsible for inspecting and licensing all open-to-the-public general aviation airports in the state. State law requires public-use airports to have a state airport license. Licensing occurs on a biennial basis. Aviation Programs also publishes and distributes to the airports and aviation community

5530-405: The state-funded commuter bus system ( GRTA Xpress ) shifted the bus routes previously using I-75 or I-575 to the express toll lanes. When the lanes were opened to the public on September 8 they were toll-free for a two-week trial period; however, all who used the lanes during that time were still required to have a Peach Pass (which has a minimum $ 20 toll load, plus other fees ) to access it. Unlike

5609-524: The turmoil surrounding the election defeat of Donald Trump , the chairman of the Cobb County Republicans and another person challenged the election results in an attempt to remove 16,024 Cobb County voters from eligibility to vote in the runoff election for both Georgia senators, scheduled for January 5, 2021. The county Board of Elections held a hearing to decide whether there was probable cause to move forward with hearings for each name on

5688-486: The urban and suburban widening projects were complete and the HOV lanes initially built in the late 1980s were finally opened and operating. Georgia boasts one of the most extensive freight rail systems in the U.S., with some 5,000 miles of track that run through almost all of the state's 159 counties. The system primarily consists of two Class 1 railroads— Norfolk Southern and CSX —and 25 shortlines. 29 percent (1,433 miles) of

5767-505: The western part of the county. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 766,149 people, 286,952 households, and 191,533 families residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 688,078 people, 260,056 households, and 175,357 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,026.4 inhabitants per square mile (782.4/km ). There were 286,490 housing units at an average density of 843.7 per square mile (325.8/km ). The racial makeup of

5846-472: Was 1,998 inhabitants per square mile (771/km ). There were 261,659 housing units at an average density of 770 per square mile (300/km ). The racial makeup of the county in 2000 was 72.4% White , 18.8% Black , 0.3% Native American , 3.06% Asian , 0.0% Pacific Islander , 5.3% from other races , and 1.87% from two or more races. 7.73% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 248,303 households, out of which 35.80% had children under

5925-463: Was elected to Georgia's 13th congressional district , which included many of those suburbs. Cobb became the first Georgia county to participate in the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g) enabling local law officers to enforce immigration law. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 345 square miles (890 km ), of which 340 square miles (880 km )

6004-482: Was established on December 3, 1832, by the Georgia General Assembly from the large Cherokee County territory—land northwest of the Chattahoochee River which the state acquired from the Cherokee Nation and redistributed to settlers via lottery , following the passage of the federal Indian Removal Act . The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb , a U.S. representative and senator from Georgia. It

6083-484: Was majority-African-American. Real-estate booms drew rural white southerners and Rust Belt transplants, both groups mostly first-generation white-collar workers . Cobb County was the home of former segregationist and Georgia governor Lester Maddox (1966–71). In 1975, Cobb voters elected John Birch Society leader Larry McDonald to Congress, running in opposition to desegregation busing . A conservative Democrat , McDonald called for investigations into alleged plots by

6162-479: Was not rebuilt in the project was I-85 between the Brookwood Split to present-day Georgia 400 . The Georgia Department of Transportation opted to build a new viaduct carrying the new 10-lane I-85 just north of the original I-85 alignment and downgraded the original alignment to Georgia State Route 13 . The construction of the Tom Moreland Interchange , replacing the cloverleaf interchange at

6241-424: Was under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 36.50% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 6.90% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males. As of 2007, the median income was $ 70,472. The per capita income for the county was $ 32,740. About 6.0% of families and 9.4% of the population were below

#354645