The Three Rivers Regional Commission (TRRC) and the Middle Georgia Regional Commission have launched an organized corridor effort, and issued press releases to media outlets across much of the state. The purpose of the corridor effort is to encourage the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to launch a formal corridor study that would lead to the eventually construction of a bypass corridor to connect LaGrange with Macon, and the corridor coalition has named the project as “Georgia’s Export/Import Highway”. In the GDOT freight study a bypass between LaGrange and Macon was listed as having the highest return on investment (ROI), it was recommended as a project GDOT should advance, but GDOT’s current timeline to look at the corridor is sometime around the year 2040. When the port of Savannah is improved the number of trucks on Georgia’s Interstate System is projected to triple, and I-75 from Macon to Atlanta could be stalled in traffic gridlock. The corridor supporters would like to see a formal corridor study performed that outlines the alignment, any special considerations, and provides an approximate cost to build the roadway. Once that is accomplished the local, regional, and state officials, with support from the private sector, would need to work to secure funding for construction.
Connectivity could also create an Atlanta Bypass
If the project is constructed it would allow Georgia’s roadways to accommodate the increased truck traffic, provide an East-West connection, open up the western side of the state via U.S. 27, and effectively create an Atlanta Bypass for freight as well as other types of traffic. The corridor website is currently under construction, it will have more news and updates, and its website address will be: http://www.georgiasexportimporthighway.com