The Liberty County Chamber of Commerce recently accepted a donation from the Hinesville Area Board of Realtors in support of the chamber’s efforts to pass the upcoming Transportation Investment Referendum, which is scheduled for the July 31 ballot.

“The Liberty County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to lend its support and voice to the passing of TIA 2010 (Regional Transportation Referendum) that will be before the voters in July of 2012,” chamber CEO Leah Poole said. “With the passage of this referendum, Liberty County and its municipalities will be better equipped with a reliable transportation infrastructure to attract economic development and create jobs.”

According to the chamber, the TIA was signed into law in June 2010. Elected officials in each of the state’s 12 regions have developed a list of projects to be funded by a 1 percent sales tax. Georgians will vote on the tax in the 2012 primary elections. If passed, 25 percent of all funds raised in the Coastal Region will be returned directly to local jurisdictions, while 75 percent of the funds will be used region-wide to fund projects agreed upon by the roundtable made up of elected officials from each county. For Liberty County, this means $101,531,606 raised in transportation funding over the course of the 10-year cycle for area projects, with an additional $26,247,886 returned to local governments for other special transportation projects.

Key projects in Liberty County include:

• Hinesville bypass from Highway 196 to Highway 84

• Flemington loop from Highway 84 to Fort Stewart Road 47

• Barrington Ferry and Highway 17 safety improvements

• Expanded Liberty Transit System

• 15th Street widening from E.G. Miles Parkway to Fort Stewart boundary

• MidCoast Regional Airport runway extension

• Highway 119 and Highway 17 intersection safety improvements

• Highway 119/E.B. Cooper Highway improvements

• Highway 84 access/safety improvements from Interstate 95 to Highway 17

• Highway 84 access/safety improvements from Spires Drive to Flowers Drive