Lake Lanier is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ national experiment in transportation funding. The corps has received, for the first time, federal road dollars — as part of a 2012 spending bill — and chosen to test them out in the South Atlantic Division based on several factors, including project needs, visitation numbers and economic impact. “You have to be a high performer in accordance with those guidelines, and Lake Lanier, being a metro lake, meets those criteria,” said Ryan Hartwig, recreation program manager for the Atlanta-based South Atlantic Division.