A new project in Georgia has caught the attention of the trucking industry. If all goes well, the state could be home to the very first truck-only highway in the United States.
Truck traffic in the state spiked after the Panama Canal and the Savannah Port were both deepened. And GDOT estimates that it will double over current levels by 2040.
With I-75 North already suffering from congestion, Georgia is looking for a way to alleviate the issue. One possible solution is a two-lane, toll-free, truck-only highway stretching the 40 miles from the Atlanta metro area to Macon.
The highway would be totally separate from existing roadways, with its own entrances and exits.
According to GDOT, cars would see a 40% reduction in traffic delays along that section of the I-75 corridor. With congestion down, GDOT is also hoping that safety will improve.
While talking about the proposed highway, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal called it “an important part of what our future transportation system should and will look like.”
But for all Gov. Deal’s certainty, there are those who think the $1.8 billion price tag is too steep for 40 miles of roadway.
With the project structured as it is now, the state hopes that the federal government will foot up to 80% of the bill. Regardless of whether the federal government comes through or not though, Gov. Deal says that the state will be able move forward thanks to their 2015 Transportation Funding Act which is increased fuel taxes.
If Gov. Deal does get his way, don’t expect to be driving on a shiny new truck-only highway any time soon. The GDOT doesn’t expect to break ground on the project until 2024 at the earliest.
Source: gobytrucknews, wabe, cbs, myajc
This needed to be extended around Atlanta, in every interstate direction. I 20 e+w, I 85 n+s and I 75 n. Then, you will have something!
They need a bypass around that 285 bypass
Right. Just like Louisville, Kentucky. It’s called an outer loop. Designate this loop as truck only, while I-285 can be passenger vehicles and local deliveries only traffic.
Oh they have the money! From all the taxes they collect and all the Hollywood South movies and TV shows and “Boo Coo” corporate headquarters and Transportation via auto, rail, port, heavy commercial vehicle, and fuel taxes. Oh they have the money! When they didn’t get the federal grant money to move those endangered muscles in the ocean down by the Port of Savannah, they somehow had they money ready to keep the dredging project green lighted and so let’s just say those muscles have been dipped in cornmeal and fried and served up at the ground breaking ceremony….lmao. Oh yeah they have the money!
I would eat every one of those muscles and have a statue erected in my name and call dub thyself
MUSCLE SLAYER
Not to mention that Nathan Deal is crooked as hell. I like him about as much as Lindsey Graham.
Here’s a thought.. According to the charter that started the interstate system, it was for “interstate commerce and national defense” – trucking and military. (In fact, when terrain allows, one out of every five miles is to be straight and as level as possible, without obstructions, to be used as emergency runways for the military.)
Let’s move the cars off the interstates!
Glad someone brought that up. President Eisonhower borrowed the idea from Germany. It was designed for commercial and heavy transport. Not personal vehicles. The interstates are for col drivers, give them back to us. Personal vehicles can keep the US roads, state and county highways.
I agree and it would keep the complaining 4 wheelers for blaming everything on the truckers
4 wheelers will still find their way onto the ‘truck only’ highway, no doubt managing to cause accidents on here as well.
Don’t forget how it would then be the trucker’s fault that the car was on the wrong highway and also the trucker’s fault for the wreck.
Texas Jester is 100% correct, let’s use the interstate for what it was intended for.
It’s only 2 lanes…so someone who can run 65 will be stuck behind a 62 mph truck, and then 70+ mph Trucks behind them…sounds like a good way for wrecks to happen.
What I was thinking. Two lane and a slow truck up front. Just look at the gorge where truck have to stay in the right lane.
You would still be moving faster than traffic on I-75 and I-285
You should have been around when the major highway between Oklahoma City and Los Angles was three lanes, the middle lane was used for passing ! Less accidents and more freight miles covered !
$1 billion goes to lining dirty politicians pockets and other .08 Billion goes to creating a comical spectacle of a 2 lane highway jammed full of trucks struggling to pass each other. Brilliant plan.
Absolutely!!
Brilliant post
🙂
Texas jester you are right.
The interstates are designed for interstate commerce for the military and the trucking industry no cars are allowed on the interstate now as it is so move all the cars off problem solved
And when you are not driving your truck and you take a family vacation(Road trip)from NY to FL, then what HWY would you use if you think 4wheelers shouldn’t use the interstates hwys?
US roads, state roads, county roads, … You know. All the roads that are not Interstates 😉
What, like there are no other roadways except I95 between FL & NY?
Good point, Im a truck Driver
And I was thinking
How Im gonna drive from FL to NJ (family trip) with my Ram 1500 V8 engine Not using the I95 ..
Share the road truckers and 4wheelers
Drive safely whatch for those RVs and Dually hualers they paying taxes too
Family first
Won’t happen. It’ll get tied up in bueraucratic red tape or by discrimination lawyers and years will go by raising the costs beyond doable. BUT if it did somehow happen by 2024, I’ll be well off the road by then anyways. & it won’t affect me diddly squat.
I’m with Richard A, the 4 wheelers will overtake the trucks only road, too. The reason will be the toll free status. With truck only roads, I guarantee the regular roads will have just as many, if not more, accidents as happens now.
Well if a 4 wheeler gets on a truck only road we should be allowed to run them off the road and not get in trouble for it .
You sound just like most of the truckers out there now….all you want to do is go on YouTube…
I agree but what if it were you driving that four wheeler .
I agree you get the car’s off the road and the truck driver will be able to do there job more effectively and with less stress from not having to put up with dumb ass 4 wheelers!! Plus every non-cdl driver needs to go back to driving school and learn how to properly drive around us big trucks;;. I lost my last job because of dumbass four-wheelers,they called the company and said I ran them off the road because they were to stupid to apply the brakes,! The Trucking companies own the roads not the 4wheelers, Thay pay all most all fuel taxes,, not cars.!!!!!!! And they need to charge some of the stupid law and give us our roads back,,if it weren’t for truck drivers no one would have anything!!We bring it all!!!!!
That would be an awesome accomplishment. They have needed something different for a long time. I think if them damn cars get on that truck only Highway they need to get a ticket!!!!! I hope this gets done. This should be an idea for most every state!!!!! It would be nice to have a Trucks Only Highway that went all through the United States!!!!!
Here in western Iowa they can’t seem to fix the roads we do have, the county can’t seem to fix the very old asphalt highways and get bridges with weight limit high enough for 80000 Pounds. I would suggest that Pres Trump fix our roads before he builds his fence they will just dig tunnels under it anyway
Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just add a lane to the existing highway? How many millions of dollars is it going to cost to do a complete 40 mile highway? Who is really going to pay for it.?
Texas had the nearly same idea by raising the truck speed limit to 85 mph on a toll road. Couldn’t figure out why trucks did not run that fast nor use the highway like the officials planned . simple . Piss poor planning and they did not talk to the potential uses first. Wake up GA. 40 miles of bad road is not enough to reduce the real congestion in traffic.
Robert Walters. You sound like a 5 year old. If that’s how you really feel maybe you should not be driving a commercial truck.
That is if you are actually a driver?
How many times have we seen cars parked in a “truck only” rest area. Don’t forget, combine this revelation of truck only roads with self driving read autonomous truck.
I’ve been saying we need our own truck interstate for years, with our own safe parking, and lots of it. I think adding another lane won’t work because cars will try to use it, and one lane one for trucks means slow travel time because if one truck is going 55, then we’re all going 55. Even 2 lanes can be tricky. You know how it goes, one guy is going 65 and the guy behind hime is going 66 but he just has to pass the one going 1 mph slower than him, 10 years later and maybe he’s finally passed him! I’m not sure what the solution is, but cars get in our way and we get in there’s. We’re out here working, and who the hell knows what they’re doing. Maybe if we had our own separate transportation corridor, they could re-work the hours of operation to allow people to drive as long as they personally can. The hours of service is to protect people in cars, not truckers, so maybe they could look at that. Instead of camera’s looking at us, invading our privacy, since we live in our trucks, what about a monitor, like an HR monitor that can detect fatigue and alert the driver to pull over and rest until enough rest has been detected. For some that might be a nap, for others maybe a good night’s sleep. We’re all different, the trucking industry needs to modernize and change, a lot of great drivers are being left out for stupid reasons. The industry is not flexible enough and it generally tends to use drivers and spit them out. Opting rather to hire new grads they can pay less than experienced ones like me. Giving me some BS line that I’ve been out of the drivers seat to long and need to go back to CDL school and ride with a trainer again. I still have my CDL and I payed my dues, can you imagine being told to earn your bachelor’s degree again because you took a few years off to raise your kids? It’s not a mom friendly or woman friendly industry. We need some sort of graduated CDL or CE credits, something to let drivers build and distinguish and keep their CDL relevant. Like Grad school for truckers. No one ever told me in CDL school or any of the job orientations that if I stopped driving for more than a year or so that I would not be able to come back with out a lot of hoops to jump through. I drove for 7 years, I spend my 20’s in a truck, my youth, driving 12-16 hour days, 60-70 hour weeks, almost 1 million miles of safe driving, and for what? To be told my skills and experience are irrelevant and out dated? F- you trucking industry, and the HR hiring policies. Are these policies mandated by law? Can anyone tell me?
Same here. I drove 18s 15 years total. But for 2 years I switched to driving a little cargo van because honestly the job and money were better. $15/hour, which sad to say is as much as many truckers earn for a starting salary, or even paid CPM they earn less than $15/hour. And low stress, super cushy job. But I got bored and began missing the big rigs, running with the big dogs, and started looking for a class A position. But couldn’t get my foot back in the door. Got told time and again I was rusty, too much of a liability.
I said Pfff I haven’t forgotten how to drive a semi. Just hire me and I’ll prove it. FINALLY I found a small lumber company with only one truck. Company owner said to me in the job interview; “I have only one question for you. Can you drive a truck?” I said yes sir I sure can. He says; Great. Here’s the keys and your bills. Now go do your thing. No road test required. Wow. Ok so I grabbed the keys jumped in the truck and off I went. Then I crashed straight into my boss’s brand new Mercedes.
Hah. Kidding. Drove that truck 2 years and didn’t put a scratch on her, and it wasn’t an easy job. I often had to blind back into tight spots at night, and back onto those hydraulic truck tilters to dump wood scrap, drive up and down steep mountains, treacherous icy back roads in winter blizzards etc.
Anyway then came the day I got a better job offer and moved on. Guess what. My replacement driver had loads of recent experience. But, first week out he flipped the rig over and dumped 50,000 pounds of lumber out into traffic. At the same intersection I went through hundreds of times.
I guess the difference between that guy and me, is even though I had no recent experience, I still understood when you’re rolling down a steep hill toward an intersection with a heavy load of lumber, you slow down and pace yourself. You take the turn real nice slow and easy, instead of barreling down the hill and trying to run the light, hang a hard left and roll your rig over.
I haven’t driven in 10 years now. Even if I wanted to I can’t because DOT downgraded my CDL, because I didn’t take the medical exam, even though I wasn’t working. Which to me is a huge injustice and ripoff. Strip me of my CDL just because I wouldn’t pay for a medical exam? which I think DOT only demanded to make money. Pay us or we’ll strip away your ability to work. Eat sh** DOT. If ever the US has a serious driver shortage, blame DOT. Also blame TSA. I lost my Hazmat endorsement long ago because I didn’t want to pay TSA $100+ for a background check to see if I might be a Muslim terrorist. What a crock of crap. What a government SCAM. I might have gone back to trucking but the money wasn’t worth all the hassles and extra fee$ our corrupt incompetent government imposes on drivers.
Now who wants to bet even after 10 years of not driving, I can still drive a damn truck, without a refresher course. No retraining required. Probably better than most drivers on the road right now. I dare you. Give me your truck keys, let’s see if I’m blowing diesel smoke up yer butts or not. 😀
I had the same problem after being out of trucking for a couple of years. The funny thing is I was driving a school bus during that time and still had a hard time finding a company to hire me. I came back to trucking because I’d rather deal with the 4wheelers over the little monsters being raised by parents that should have never of had kids to begin with.
I see all the new express lanes going in the dfw metroplex on the loop, I-35,I-20 wouldn’t it be great if they would make those express lanes for truck only.
Suzy how can you be safe violating hos by driving 12 to 16 hrs a day ??? Georgia needs a interstate highway that is 20 miles away from Atlanta
That will work out just as well as the truck only rest areas do
I will think we already have what Georgia is talking about. All New Jersey has to do is change it from cars, trucks and busses to trucks and busses only.
sounds like a great idea but its just an experimental highway so when it fails ,well someone has got to be blamed .
Truck-only highways needs to be a nation-wide effort. Truck traffic continues to increase each year. Wherever accidents occur between cars and large trucks, the cars occupants are much more likely to be severely injured. Due to the weight of large trucks, maneuverability, most importantly the ability to stop, is compromised. In an effort to make more profit, trucking companies push their drivers to drive faster and log more hours.