[fromsc2tx]

^ I dont dispute what youre saying about Max Burns wanting to bring I-3 to Screven Co. But the whole idea for this interstate had nothing to do with Ft. Stewart, except to honor its soldiers. It has to do with connectivity between Sav & Augusta, a way for personnel & equipment at Ft. Gordon to move to the Savannah ports, and for trucks coming to & from the ports to have easier access to points northwest of Savannah.

It would make sense to align I-3 along the US 80 corridor, giving Statesboro interstate access.

[aboutmetro]

aboutmetro, on Oct 10 2007, 11:11 AM, said:

Also, there's word that a committee of the Columbus Chamber was working behind the scenes on building support for the I-22 extension from Birmingham to Brunswick. The Columbus Deputy City Manager is an ex officio member of the Chambers' transportation committee, I believe. You can e-mail David Arrington to let him know there's growing community support for the project...

The Georgia DOT is holding regional meetings in Southwest Georgia to determine necessity, feasibility and desire for 'access' to Interstates. This area along with Southeast Alabama was like the land that the Interstates forgot. I would think that, since the very definition of an Interstate involves more than one state, Alabama and Florida would be brought into the discussion... Anyway, here's a link to the dedicated website. There will be a stakeholders meeting (presentation link) in Columbus, GA on April 15th. Other area meetings have already occured. Southwest Georgia Interstate Study website.

The study area map:

[aboutmetro]

The GA DOT has finally added a comment form to their website.

[xikartu]

I believe the smartest thing that the GA DOT can do with this issue is to place the emphasis on trying to establish easier access to Columbus, GA by expanding the existing I-185 (re numbering the highway to like "I-??") which is to extend from I-85 to I-10. Also approve of the highway link between Montgomery, Columbus, Macon, and Augusta as it is very difficult to travel East to West in GA. As far as the Savannah to Knoxville... too much of a negative impact on the environment (Appalachian Mountains) but it would be good to just limit it to Augusta and Savannah.

But on a long term energy/gas thing... they should really invest in the old railroads. Subsidize them and make Georgia the first state in the south that has a European-like rapid transit system that will allow people without cars to travel across the state!

[j.midtown]

xikartu, on Jul 19 2008, 04:28 AM, said:

But on a long term energy/gas thing... they should really invest in the old railroads. Subsidize them and make Georgia the first state in the south that has a European-like rapid transit system that will allow people without cars to travel across the state!

Well, Sonny Come-lately finally said commuter rail might be worth thinking about, so there's at least a feint in the right direction. More help might be coming from the feds as I've been told there's a lot of talk around adding more money for rail in the next federal transportation plan. We can only hope.

[aboutmetro]

GA DOT Commissioner Evans said this morning at a Chamber breakfast in Lagrange that the limited access highway (aka I-14) between Augusta and Columbus was a high priority for her administration.

[aboutmetro]

It got buried in the State section of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (article here), but the State Transportation honchos have come together to bring a message of doom to the Governor and new legislature. Underfunding transportation could cost Georgia hundreds of thousands of jobs in future years. The IT3 project is a centerpiece in the report the State leadership.

[aboutmetro]

The city of College Station TX has joined the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway System Coalition. The organization exists to promote the I-14 development in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. KBTX article:
 I_14_CollegeStTX.pdf (30.24K)
Number of downloads: 10

This post has been edited by aboutmetro: 24 March 2009 - 07:12 AM

[andremurra]

fromsc2tx, on Jan 26 2008, 08:22 AM, said:

^ I dont dispute what youre saying about Max Burns wanting to bring I-3 to Screven Co. But the whole idea for this interstate had nothing to do with Ft. Stewart, except to honor its soldiers. It has to do with connectivity between Sav & Augusta, a way for personnel & equipment at Ft. Gordon to move to the Savannah ports, and for trucks coming to & from the ports to have easier access to points northwest of Savannah.

It would make sense to align I-3 along the US 80 corridor, giving Statesboro interstate access.

I was saying that the original intention of creating 'interstates' was to connect urban areas of 50k+ as well as military bases. I didnt mean that Ft Stewart connectivity was the intention of I-3, but my argument is that the alternate route Ive proposed would satisfy the original reason for the existence of interstates (50k & Mil Bases). Im assuming that this project has been scrapped - I have not heard anything about it since Max got voted out.

[aboutmetro]

New public meetings scheduled for discussion of Interstates in SouthWest GA -

Public Involvement Meetings
At 5 pm


1. Monday, November 2, 2009
Southwest Georgia Technical College - Sewell Building D 15689 US Highway 19 North Thomasville, GA 31792
(From US 19 heading south, proceed on US 19 through intersection with US 84 Bypass. College is on the right.)

2. Monday, November 9, 2009
Albany State University – L. Orene Hall 504 College Drive Albany, GA 31705
(From US 82 (East Oglethorpe Blvd.), turn south onto College Drive. Continue on College Drive straight until it ends. Turn right into the parking lot, then left into the parking lot.
L. Orene Hall is the last building straight ahead.)

3. Thursday, November 12, 2009
Chattahoochee County Middle and High School - Cafeteria 360 Highway 26 Cusseta, GA 31805
(From Columbus, travel south on US 27/SR 520 and take a left on SR 26. Travel 2-3 miles; School is on the right. From Albany, travel north on SR 520; take a right on SR 26.
Travel 2-3 miles; School is on the right.)

[aboutmetro]

GDOT is studying a western link for Georgia's coast. But I hope it's just not a 4-lame widening as they've done in the past. Those are good for local travel, but not for Interstate travel. Read the Executive Summary from GDOT.

This post has been edited by aboutmetro: 29 October 2009 - 10:54 AM

[aboutmetro]

Unfortunately, GDOT isn't recommending any new Interstates for South Georgia. That means no extension for I-185 nor extending I-22 from Memphis to the Coast, or even extending I-16 west to Mississippi. It's very unfortunate. They say the current or projected traffic doesn't justify.

"Presently, GDOT is studying the need for Interstate access within Southwest Georgia. Information on this study (Southwest Georgia Interstate Study) can be found on our website at: http://www.dot.ga.go...estgeorgia.aspx. This study is near completion and we are not recommending the construction of additional Interstates in southwest Georgia-including the I-22 and I-81 proposal attached to your e-mail. This recommendation is based on existing and projected future traffic volumes plus a benefit to cost analysis which was completed."