Chambliss, Isakson Introduce Interstate Bills

Chambliss, Isakson Introduce Interstate Bills

Washington - U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga, today introduced two pieces of legislation that would propose two new interstate highways. The first bill would create a study regarding Interstate 14, which would link Augusta, Macon, and Columbus, Georgia, connecting through Montgomery, Alabama and going to Natchez, Mississippi. The second bill would create a study regarding establishing Interstate 3, which would link Savannah and Augusta, Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Both highways are designed to remove through-traffic from existing two-lane roads, while providing economic stimulus for communities bypassed by existing interstate highways.

"Creating these new interstates will also deliver highway equity to vast regions of the South that were shortchanged by previous construction cycles," said Chambliss. "Many in these regions still suffer from the lack of economic parity with America. Eighty percent of jobs in America are located within ten miles of an interstate. It is my hope that the addition of ‘I-3' and ‘I-14' will also provide much needed economic development and job creation for these regions."

Said Isakson, "These two interstate highways would provide vital links between communities across Georgia and the Southeast and would breathe new life into our rural areas that desperately need economic development. I look forward to seeing a study that shows how we can get these two highways built."

The senators said the 3rd Infantry Division Highway Initiative Act is named for the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart - the Division that served as the "Tip of the Spear" in the War on Terror in Iraq and whose soldiers conquered Najaf, seized Saddam International Airport and Saddam Hussein's palaces, and led the fighting on the day of Baghdad's historic liberation. The proposed route for ‘I-3' would provide a highway link between strategic defense interests in our region including Fort Gordon, Eisenhower Army Regional Medical Center, the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospitals, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, and the Port of Savannah among others. ‘I-3' would provide a long-needed North-South interstate access for Augusta, Georgia's second largest city and would provide a direct interstate link between Fort Gordon in Augusta and Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

The senators also said the honorary name of the "I-14" plan provides symbolic recognition to the promise of economic parity to freed slaves, which was implied with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868. As the South struggled to overcome four years of devastating war and find a way to integrate the newly emancipated slaves into the full benefits of citizenship, Congress passed this amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for all Americans.

"It may take a decade to bring these projects to full completion," said Chambliss. "They are not a quick or easy fix, however they are the necessary, equitable and common sense solutions."

Both bills would require the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to the appropriate committees of Congress, before December 31, 2005, the steps and estimated funding necessary to designate and construct these new inter-state highways.

Chambliss, Isakson Introduce Interstate Bills

Washington - U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga, today introduced two pieces of legislation that would propose two new interstate highways. The first bill would create a study regarding Interstate 14, which would link Augusta, Macon, and Columbus, Georgia, connecting through Montgomery, Alabama and going to Natchez, Mississippi. The second bill would create a study regarding establishing Interstate 3, which would link Savannah and Augusta, Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Both highways are designed to remove through-traffic from existing two-lane roads, while providing economic stimulus for communities bypassed by existing interstate highways.

"Creating these new interstates will also deliver highway equity to vast regions of the South that were shortchanged by previous construction cycles," said Chambliss. "Many in these regions still suffer from the lack of economic parity with America. Eighty percent of jobs in America are located within ten miles of an interstate. It is my hope that the addition of ‘I-3' and ‘I-14' will also provide much needed economic development and job creation for these regions."

Said Isakson, "These two interstate highways would provide vital links between communities across Georgia and the Southeast and would breathe new life into our rural areas that desperately need economic development. I look forward to seeing a study that shows how we can get these two highways built."

The senators said the 3rd Infantry Division Highway Initiative Act is named for the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart - the Division that served as the "Tip of the Spear" in the War on Terror in Iraq and whose soldiers conquered Najaf, seized Saddam International Airport and Saddam Hussein's palaces, and led the fighting on the day of Baghdad's historic liberation. The proposed route for ‘I-3' would provide a highway link between strategic defense interests in our region including Fort Gordon, Eisenhower Army Regional Medical Center, the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospitals, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, and the Port of Savannah among others. ‘I-3' would provide a long-needed North-South interstate access for Augusta, Georgia's second largest city and would provide a direct interstate link between Fort Gordon in Augusta and Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

The senators also said the honorary name of the "I-14" plan provides symbolic recognition to the promise of economic parity to freed slaves, which was implied with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868. As the South struggled to overcome four years of devastating war and find a way to integrate the newly emancipated slaves into the full benefits of citizenship, Congress passed this amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for all Americans.

"It may take a decade to bring these projects to full completion," said Chambliss. "They are not a quick or easy fix, however they are the necessary, equitable and common sense solutions."

Both bills would require the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to the appropriate committees of Congress, before December 31, 2005, the steps and estimated funding necessary to designate and construct these new inter-state highways.

http://isakson.senate.gov/press/2005/021805interstate.htm