The U.S. Senate voted on Aug. 10 to approve President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes plans for a new interstate highway that starts in Augusta and stretches to Texas.
The proposed Interstate 14 would cross Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The project is in an amendment co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia).
“The amendment does not have any cost associated with it; rather, it is a first step in the process of upgrading this system of roads to add freight capacity and connect strategic military installations across our states,” Cruz said.
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Warnock said the infrastructure bill is about creating jobs and boosting the nation’s economy.
“Designating I-14 as a high priority corridor will connect key base communities from Columbus to Albany to Augusta, helping reduce congestion and strengthening our economy by connecting emerging technology markets throughout our state,” he said. “This bipartisan amendment is a win for Georgia’s economy and military installations, and I look forward to getting it over the finish line.”
A driving force pushing for I-14 has been the Youth Infrastructure Coalition, founded in Columbus, Ga. in 2017 by Frank Lumpkin and two friends. Lumpkin was 19 when he founded the coalition.
“It all starts back for my love for Columbus. I was writing a research paper as part of my senior project back in high school,” Lumpkin said. “I noticed patterns of economic disparity in communities not connected to the highway system.”
They created the “My14” video to highlight some of those issues.
Lumpkin said, “”We raised $15,000 to create that video. I remember the first two weeks were nearly silent. We had like 200 views on YouTube. I thought I had spent all this donor money and we had nothing to show for it. Then Fox News called, and then a call from U.S. News and World Report.”
The coalition began the process of getting the required resolutions of support from elected officials in every local government along the proposed route.
“Every county, every level of government, state legislatures and Congress people on the route,” said Lumpkin. “Rick Allen (R-Ga. 12), of course, has been a huge supporter. He was actually crucial in helping us get the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation on board.”
Lumpkin, now in law school, started a summer internship with a law firm in Washington, D.C. and realized it opened doors to put the I-14 idea in front of new senators and congressmen. Both Cruz and Warnock came on board to have the amendment added to the Biden stimulus package.
He said the interstate can provide opportunities all along the route.
“Augusta sits on I-20 and I-520 but now, with I-14, Augusta could be at the center of two major interstates. This is going to provide new economic opportunities for Augusta, especially in the areas of warehouses and distribution, manufacturing and tourism,” he explained. “Anyone who says Augusta doesn’t need a new interstate, I would say they’re very wrong. This is going to transform the city as well as the entire middle Georgia corridor.”
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A congressional study in 2005 first called for two new interstates, I-14 and I-3. Then Georgia senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both Republicans, offered two amendments to the national highway funding bill.
Interstate 3 was met with opposition, as noted in a 2012 feasibility study the Federal Highway Administration sent to Congress.
“Three of the four corridors have significant enough problems to make them infeasible or unreasonable for further study, such as impacts to National Parks, extreme mountainous terrain, or being too far from the cities specified by Congress,” the study reads.
Although construction on I-14 may be years in the future, once the president signs the infrastructure package approved by Congress, the project moves forward.
“If you would’ve told me four years ago that we’d be here, I don’t think I would have believed you. It seems like we moved a mountain,” said Lumpkin.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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