By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 13, 2021 | Ever heard of Interstate 14? You may not have. It doesn’t exist…..yet.
But it could. It would be a route across the Deep South covering 1,300 miles, after a bipartisan amendment passed through the U.S. Senate, through an unusual partnership of Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Ted Cruz of Texas, who got together behind the measure. The U.S. Senate approved an amendment to the pending Bipartisan Infrastructure Package expanding the congressional designation of an interstate route on a corridor across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. . The designation was approved earlier in the U.S. House and has the support of every House member whose district is along the route. All 10 senators along the route agreed to the proposal.
The proposed interstate motorway would begin in Augusta, cut through middle Georgia near Macon and head west to Columbus. In Alabama it would be routed slightly south of Montgomery, while in Mississippi it would connect Meridian, Laurel and Natchez. Entering Louisiana at Alexandria, it would enter Texas at Jasper, then continue to Bryan Station, Temple, Killeen and end at Midland-Odessa.
The proposed route released by the two senators has an unspoken element to it. It has a strategic military impact. The map drawn shows not only the highway route, but pinpoints military bases along the way. That includes 16 military bases near or that have high-speed routes connected to the proposed Interstate. In the case of any national emergency, the four-lane route would be a benefit to move cargo or troops along the way. That’s a bow to the idea of the original throughway, the German autobahn systems, built to move traffic unimpeded along greatly improved roads.
Warnock
Of course, another benefit from the five-state route would be its economic impact for every city along the way. An additional element is that its building would mean that traffic on other Interstates routes would be reduced, and even drive times between locations of cities along the route would be lowered.
For Georgians, a midstate Interstate could greatly improve driving conditions. If you have ever traveled east-west across Georgia, you would have been driving on what is called “Washboard Roads.” This term comes as waters generally flow from North Georgia toward the coast, creating valleys and hills, running north and south. That means a traveler is continually going either up or down a small hill, much as a washboard is constructed. An Interstate route would fill in the valleys, and cut down the hills, making a more comfortable, safer drive.
Authorization is only the first step in a decades-long process of building this interstate route. Supporters must now shift to winning funding for planning and construction of projects on the corridor, work that must be done with Congress, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the departments of transportation in each of the states along the corridor.
But for now, here’s a Hip-Hip-Hooray to Raphael Warnock and Ted Cruz, for showing us what bipartisanship can do!
- Clarification: Mayor Lois Salter of Berkeley Lake reminds us: “Dan Miller (who GwinnettForum featured in a cross-country bike ride story recently) doesn’t live in Duluth. He lives in Berkeley Lake and we are proud to claim him.” We regret he was misidentified in the story sent to us.—eeb
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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