The U.S. Department of Transportation announced its approval of the TIP on Tuesday, a week after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency okayed the document. The TIP includes $1.9 billion in spending on public transportation, car-pool lanes and new roads in the Atlanta region.

For the last two years, the Atlanta region has not been able to spend federal funds on new roads and some other projects because the region did not have a transportation plan that conformed to air quality standards. Gaining approval of a conforming TIP has been one of GRTA’s top priorities since the new authority was formed in June of 1999.

“This is a major step,” GRTA Executive Director Catherine Ross said Wednesday. “It means that as early as October, we could begin implementing projects to relieve congestion and provide more transportation choices in our region.”