Port of Savannah-linked corridor to streamline flow of goods

A new freight corridor in Georgia aims to streamline the flow of goods by connecting Interstate 16 with the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, according to a July 7 press release.

The $126 million Brampton Road Connector, set to open Wednesday, creates a four-lane highway directly linked to the terminal. By connecting with the interstate, the connector is meant to remove at-grade rail crossings and truck traffic from local neighborhoods. In turn, truck drivers will have faster access to the port and a more streamlined route to inland markets, per the release.

“Our trucking community will also achieve faster turntimes at the port with safer routings inland, benefiting Savannah supply chain speeds,” Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch said.

The Brampton Road Connector is the final piece of a series of projects by the Georgia Department of Transportation to create a cargo beltway in the city of Savannah. The department said it has invested close to $600 million in roadway projects during the last 12 years, including:

• $295 million to reconstruct I-16 and I-95 for the safety and flow of commuters and cargo moving on and off each interstate.
• $129 million for the Jimmy Deloach Parkway, a limited-access truck route linking Garden City Terminal with I-16 and I-95.
• $22.5 million for the Highway 307 overpass to carry vehicular traffic and support the free flow of trucks and trains over the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail terminal.
• $14.2 million to upgrade Grange Road to provide better truck access between Jimmy Deloach Parkway and Garden City Terminal.

The Georgia Ports Authority also has additional projects underway. For example, in May the port opened a new inland port in Gainesville, with a build-out cost of $134 million and an annual capacity of 200,000 containers. The inland port project is part of the port’s decade-long plan to invest $5 billion in infrastructure.