Second-busiest stop in state to offer a modern, tech-savvy experience
Lawmakers and tourism leaders joined Georgia Department of Transportation officials Tuesday to break ground for a new Georgia Welcome Center on Interstate 95 at Mile Marker 111 in Port Wentworth.
The current center, which is more than 40 years old, is the second-busiest in the state, barely edged out by the I-75 center in Valdosta near the Florida line.
The new $10.2 million building will have 20,000 square feet — nearly four times the size of the old center — and will feature the latest in hands-on, high-tech marketing designed to capture the interest of the 2.2 million travelers who pass that way every year.
“We have only 116 miles between the South Carolina and Florida borders to give drivers something that compels them to stop and stay a while,” said Joe Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah.
To that end, Visit Savannah and the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau will join with the Georgia Department of Economic Development in a private/public partnership to design and install the kind of three-dimensional displays that give visitors a sensory and experiential feel of all the Georgia coastline has to offer, Marinelli said.
“It’s definitely a work in progress, but we’re looking at different ways to incorporate state-of-the-art technology to showcase and capture the experience, from moss-draped oaks to the feel of Tybee sand and the scents of jasmine from downtown gardens,” he said.
“When this is done, we think it will be the most unique welcome center in the country.”
The new center is expected to be open in a little more than a year.