A program to assist local governments and CIDs with local planning and funding for areas with significant freight activity to improve freight mobility, safety, and access.
The 2016 Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan Update identified the need to conduct local, small area freight planning in the Atlanta Region to address transportation issues related to this key part of the region’s economy. The Freight Cluster Plan Program was created to address this need, and it provides local governments and Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) funds for local planning with a focus on freight movement. The purpose of freight cluster plans is to address transportation planning, traffic operations, and related planning needs, and to identify recommended projects and policy changes to address those needs.
This program is intended to complement the comprehensive transportation plan (CTP) program and assist project sponsors by clearly defining goals, needs, and priorities for the study area. Freight Cluster Plans focus on facilitating efficient movement of freight, improving access to jobs, reducing traffic congestion, changes in the freight industry, and improving safety, mobility, and access for all roadway users.
The project recommendations from each plan will form the basis for future funding requests from local sponsors during the ARC Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update cycles, as well as future funding requests via GDOT, FHWA, and other sources. These plans, while focused on local issues and needs, also serve as the groundwork for regional planning efforts led by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Grants for these Freight Cluster Plans have been offered in several rounds, of which the most recent was in the spring of 2025. Project sponsors may apply for $250,000 – $300,000 in federal funding per plan, which then requires a 20% local match from the project sponsor. Eligible sponsors include local government jurisdictions and CIDs.
Freight cluster plans outline projects and strategies to enhance freight movement in regionally important clusters. Plans may have a “standard focus,” addressing issues such as safety, congestion, reliability, bottlenecks, and workforce access (standard focus scope of work template) or a “sustainability focus,” aimed at helping businesses reduce, and where possible, eliminate emissions from freight movement and related logistics activities (sustainability focus scope of work template).
Similar to the template for the ARC’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) program, these templates ensures that minimum planning standards are met and that there is consistency throughout the Freight Cluster Plan program. Project sponsors tailor the scope from this template to their individual needs, specifying their study area, schedule, and issues specific to their community.
Each completed freight cluster plan has multiple deliverables as part of the analysis and planning process, which then results in project and policy recommendations. These plans, and their deliverables, include the following:
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