Illustration via Northeast Georgia Inland Port.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 10, 2021 | Good government to us means taking care of matters today, but also thinking well ahead to be prepared for what we know will be coming.
After all, another 2.5 million people are expected to live in Georgia by 2045 (24 years away), adding to Georgia’s present population of 10.7 million (2020 figure.)
An example of trying to stay ahead is a planned Northeast Georgia Inland Port north of Gainesville. Anticipation is that this new port will be receiving train traffic via a 324-mile intermodal rail service to offload containers bound for North Georgia, Tenneseee and the Carolinas.
What this will do for our interstate system is to give some relief of highway traffic in Georgia, not requiring as many 18-wheelers on Interstates 16 and 75 from the port in Savannah heading for northeast Georgia. The Gainesville port will offset 600 roundtrip highway miles for every container moved by rail.
Of course, once the freight containers are at the Gainesville Inland Port, trucks will be used to haul them to their ultimate destination. However, trucks will no longer be necessary for the longer haul from the port to Gainesville. (You wonder: if we are having difficulty hiring truck drivers now, how about when the Inland Port is finished?)
Meanwhile, the State of Georgia will concurrently have under construction the widening of two additional Interstate lanes (another lane each way) along Interstate 16. Traffic on I-16 is expected to increase 40 percent in coming years.
That highway construction work is only in the initial stages now, as you may have seen clearing and grubbing along portions. It is expected that this work will not be complete until between 2024-2028. That’s at least one year earlier than originally thought. That work is now just beginning to start, as the massive remake of the I-16 and I-75 interchange in Macon, now being finished by the Snellville firm of E.R. Snell Contractor.
As an aside, ironically by that time the Interstate widening is done, Georgia may have grown enough that most vehicle drivers will not notice much difference in road improvement. But without this work, Georgia drivers may be more crowded and more frustrated than ever.
One person closely watching the activity is Ed Crowell, president of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association. He says: “The need is strong and growing, and will be obviously temporary, but when the work is done, matters will settle in, but at a higher level than before. Things were growing before the pandemic, but now we see the push to recovery, and everyone wants it all at once, as traffic builds up again.”
The location of the Intermodal Terminal is above Gainesville, off the Interstate 985 intersection at White Sulfur Road. The terminal should be operational by 2024. It will be alongside the Norfolk-Southern rail tracks at Hillcrest Drive. The site is at the Gateway Industrial Centre, and consists of 104 acres. The site will be composed of six rail tracks, with a length of 18,000 feet. Part of the financing came from a $46 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Construction has not gotten underway yet, awaiting a permit from the National Environmental Policy Act process, which is expected soon.
The Northeast Georgia Inland Port idea comes out of government trying to get ahead of the curve. But by the time all this is complete, Georgia may have grown enough, and traffic may be heavier….so that most of us won’t see much difference in vehicle traffic on Interstates 75 and 16. But it will be not just good, but necessary, to have.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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