ATLANTA — A study released on Monday looks at the potential impacts a new interstate could have on Georgia’s rural communities and commute times.
The Interstate 14 route would extend from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Congress designated I-14 as a high-priority corridor in a 2021 surface transportation law from Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
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The Transportation Construction Coalition is the organization behind the new case study. It says the multi-state corridor would link military installations, freight routes, ports and communities that do not have a direct east-west interstate connection.
It said the project could improve connectivity, drive economic activity in small communities and help move goods and people safely and efficiently.
“The proposed Interstate 14 corridor shows the impact and potential of long-term federal transportation funding and what’s at stake across America. Corridors of this scale take years of planning, coordination and investment and states cannot make those commitments without long-term federal certainty,” the coalition said.
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The coalition said the corridor will eventually span 1,300 miles, but only 25 miles in Texas have been completed so far.
Its case study points to Talbot County, Ga., where the coalition said the poverty rate is 22% and residents have an average commute of almost 43 minutes. It said I-14 could lower commute times and increase access for underserved rural communities.
The Congressional designation lets federal and state planning move forward, but it does not fund or authorize construction of the full interstate, according to the coalition.
Congress must pass a long-term surface transportation reauthorization before the current law expires on Dec. 11, 2026, according to the coalition.
There hasn’t been an interstate built in Georgia since the 1960s.
The Georgia Department of Transportation did its own study back in 2024, the Capitol Beat reports. But the GDOT study concluded that I-14 would not be a good return on investment compared to other highways, the Capitol Beat reports.
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