Georgia gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel released a statement today encouraging the Georgia Department of transportation to pursue a more “common sense” route for the U.S. 411 Connector near Rome and Cartersville.

“The 411 Connector must be completed as expeditiously as possible, and at the same time, it must be done in the most cost-effective manner available,” said Handel. “A Connector will provide critical access for Rome and Cartersville to I-75. Pursuing a route through a mountain opens up the state to significant legal challenges that will only delay this much-needed project. And, selecting a route that clearly will be the most costly — when other options are available — is irresponsible when our state is facing a budget crisis.”

Her statement comes on the heels of an advertisement from a group called the Northern Arc Task Force, which ran in the Rome News-Tribune and other newspapers. The group contends that the 411 Connector would bring back the Northern Arc, a controversial project killed by then-governor Roy Barnes in 2002.

The ad said, in part: “GDOT remains fixated on building a route only it seems to want, to keep the Northern Arc alive. We call that hubris, arrogance, or simply what it is: government at its worst. Fortunately, this is just in time for the election season; the Northern Arc Task Force has been down this ‘road’ before.”