New Georgia Export/Import Highway(Lagrange-Macon)

[afguy]

After reading a little bit more about this project, I believe its needed. The question is though should it just consist of an upgraded S.R. 74/S.R. 109 corridor with bypasses around the bigger towns or should it be a westward extension of I-16 to LaGrange. Considering the fact the amount of truck traffic on I-75 is epxected to triple because of the Savannah port's expansion, I'm learning toward a westward extension of I-16. What do ya'll think about this proposed development.
http://www.georgiasexportimporthighway.com/

[jwolfer]

I think going through Columbus and out to Montgomery would be better

[afguy]

I think this route along with I-14 and a new western and southern bypass around Atlanta make sense. But I do have to take back an earlier comment I made, I wouldn't favor a westward extension of I-16, I favor the option of converting S.R. 74 and S.R. 109 to a four lane route with bypasses built around larger towns. Also in Meriwether County I would have the route go a litter further south as to serve the CSX yard in Manchester. That is a busy spot along the CSX line.

[Tom958]

To me, the idea of running it along existing 74 through urban and suburban Macon is a nonstarter. I think it needs to run westward from I-75 near the northern end of I-475 and not rejoin the 74/109 corridor until at least Yatesville. That is, if it's truly needed at all. The first mention of this corridor that I saw was in the Freight & Logistics Plan, which I think is where that enticing benefit/cost ratio comes from. Without knowing, I'd guess that much of the project's supposed utility comes from factors that wouldn't be attained by a simple widening with bypasses as shown...



In particular, I suspect that extreme viability of the corridor depends in good portion upon whether it would provide an appealing bypass of Atlanta for the Savannah-Birmingham axis, which in turn would depend on how traffic would get from La Grange to I-20. That's just a guess, though, based mainly on that rather outrageous B/C ratio. Speaking of which, it's not inconceivable that a straight-up widening as pictured might be worth doing even if the B/C ration is well below 18/1. The fatal flaw of the most efficient schemes will likely be the need to complete the whole thing more or less at once, which will be hard to pull off in, y'know, the real world.

I suppose that the proposed corridor study will shake all of that out, though this page gives the distinct impression that quite a few stakeholders have their minds made up already.

[froggie]

The biggest unanswered question on that website:  how will it be paid for.

Significant issue considering they don't even have funding lined up for a feasibility study.

[Tom958]

The biggest unanswered question on that website:  how will it be paid for.

Significant issue considering they don't even have funding lined up for a feasibility study.

Well, yeah. However, if the project can be shown to actually produce an extremely high B/C ratio, it'd be foolish not to finance it with debt if other funding sources can't be lined up. The big problem with that is political: the so-called Governor's Road Improvement Program has been a fixture in this state since the '80's, and the more marginal rural areas feel that it's their turn to get a share of the pork even as B/C declines into negative territory for the remaining unbuilt segments. And "remaining" includes segments that were added relatively recently.

There's some discussion of that earlier in this thread. Maybe I'll look it up when I get time.

[NE2]

This highway will provide the only direct east-west connection between the Port and major West Central Georgia importers and exporters like KIA Motors America, Inc. and its suppliers around West Point, GA.

A southern bypass of Macon connecting I-16 to the Fall Line Freeway, along with an upgrade of SR 103 from I-185 to West Point, would be just as direct and require less construction.

To encourage Georgia DOT to authorize a corridor study by December 31, 2013

hehehe

[Tom958]

To encourage Georgia DOT to authorize a corridor study by December 31, 2013

hehehe

Well, that was embarrassing. Still, I'm wondering WTF as I read the B/C section (page 48) of the project recommendations from the the Freight & Logistics Plan.

[lordsutch]

I'm not really sure what this adds over the Fall Line Freeway route. I'd rather they upgrade the deficient FLF sections (missing bypasses, flush-median sections) first and build some proper connectivity south of Macon from I-16 to I-75 - alas both the Sardis Creek/Sgoda Road extension and GA 96 widening are only being built to suburban arterial standards with bike lanes and a 45 mph speed limit, so not what you'd want long-distance truckers using. With a proper FLF from Columbus to I-16 built to full rural expressway standards with access control around the cities along the route, I-185 would give sufficient access from the FLF up to LaGrange.

If you were going to do something from scratch, though, I think a "southern arc" freeway from I-20 east of Covington via the Jackson/Griffin area over to I-85 south of Newnan might be more plausible and useful.