ATLANTA — The Savannah harbor expansion project is expected to bring so much new business that community leaders in Macon and West Georgia aren’t willing to wait patiently for improvements in the highway corridor connecting them to the port.
They are pushing state transportation officials and lobbying politicians to begin the initial studies into how the existing roads between Macon and LaGrange, where Kia Motors has a plant, can be enhanced so the communities along the way won’t miss out on the benefits of port expansion. It could also help Savannah take freight from Alabama ports.
“We’re interested in it for commerce, more industry. We’ve got companies in the western party of Georgia that are dependent on that port. ... I would much rather have them spend their money on a Georgia port than Mobile,” said Lanier Boatwright, executive director of the Three Rivers Regional Commission.
Macon sees the West Georgia corridor as a way for the Middle Georgia city to become a trade intersection, according to Patrick Topping, senior vice president of the Macon Economic Development Commission.
“This will be a critical, critical road,” he said. “If we create the highway, Macon could be a great location for a multi-modal hub.”
Local leaders want $1.5 million for the study. They tried to include funding for the study in the package
of projects that would have been financed had the area voted for a one-cent transportation tax in 2012, but it was deleted as not being a construction project. So they are now asking for a federal grant.
The Georgia Department of Transportation supports the corridor improvements just not yet. Department projections say other projects around the state are a higher priority and that the Macon-LaGrange upgrades can wait until 2030 or even 2040.
“The time when you do Macon-LaGrange is later,” said Tom McQueen, assistant administrator of the department’s planning office.
He said by looking at all of the existing shippers and those expected in that corridor the agency figures existing roads in the corridor are sufficient. But the crystal ball isn’t foolproof since Caterpillar’s decision to build a plant outside Athens and ship equipment through Savannah wasn’t anticipated.
McQueen says upgrades along U.S. 441 to accommodate Caterpillar are a more pressing need.
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