DeKalb County is seeking money from the federal economic stimulus package to fund everything from highway resurfacing to park landscaping.

The county has 16 eligible projects, totaling more than $26 million, on a list of approved projects by the Georgia Department of Transportation — including such high-profile projects as resurfacing busy U.S. Highway 78 near Stone Mountain Park and completion of the Memorial Drive streetscape project.

The department is responsible for divvying up a majority of the state’s $932 million for transportation from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The resurfacing of Memorial Drive/U.S. 78 from Goldsmith Road to West Park Place near Stone Mountain Park is valued at $4 million.

Hudson Dempaire, owner of Dempaire Design Studio on Memorial Drive near Goldsmith Road, said he felt the project would “be a positive thing for the area.”

The barber shop and salon has operated in a retail/commercial area near the park since 2006. Reports of crime have plagued the area for years.

“[Repaving the road] will hopefully bring more people to the area and help lower the crime rate,” Dempaire said.

The state transportation department’s list also includes almost $9 million for portions of the Memorial Drive Streetscape project from Candler Road in Atlanta-DeKalb to Mountain Drive in Stone Mountain; more than $1 million for landscaping at Deepdene Park near Fernbank Science Center on Ponce de Leon Avenue; and more than $6 million for new traffic signals throughout the county.

The list, which was approved in mid-March and consists of 135 projects from across the state, still requires the approval of Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Governor’s Office spokesman Burt Brantley said Perdue is giving the list a “final analysis” and will begin approving projects soon.

“He wants to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these projects are needed,” Brantley said. “We don’t want to spend money for spending money’s sake.”

The state must have at least $326 million of the stimulus funds obligated by June 30 — 120 days after the money was awarded — and begin the process of construction in July or risk losing the funding, according to federal regulations.

The list of transportation department-approved projects is valued at more than $512 million, though Brantley said the governor may not approve every project on the list.

More information on Georgia’s portion of transportation funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a complete list of Georgia Department of Transportation approved projects is available at the department’s Web site at www.dot.ga.gov/gastimulus.