LOUISVILLE, GA — Back in 1989 the Georgia General Assembly adopted the Governor's Road Improvement Program (GRIP) that has since been amended to include over 3,300 miles of designated highways to enhance connectivity, effective and efficient transportation and safer travel. Of those 19 Georgia corridors, the US 1 and State Route 17 passageway covers 331 miles from Habersham County to the Florida state line.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) took a major step forward in Jefferson County, recently awarding the planned widening and reconstruction of US 1 (Louisville Bypass) from north of Nimrod Road to Clarks Mill Road totaling 2.85 miles. C and H Paving Inc. is the approved bidder at $16.97 million for the project assigned a September 30, 2022 completion date.

US 1 is a primary north to south corridor in eastern Georgia. The roadway has reached operational capacity, and improvements are required to maintain ideal service for freight transport and everyday travelers. Jefferson County Commission Chair Mitchell McGraw said this step is vital for the community.

State Transportation Board Congressional District 12 representative Don Grantham said expanding GRIP highways continues to be a high priority as the nearly complete State Route 17 widening to the north in McDuffie and Wilkes counties and the Jefferson County US 1 projects showcase.

This GRIP corridor project is set to expand the route section from two to four, 11-foot lanes in each direction with a flush median and curb and gutter throughout. Sidewalk will begin at Old State Route 17 and end at the northern terminus.

McGraw said heightened safety is paramount on a current two-lane roadway section that sees over 8,000 daily drivers with 20 percent trucks.

"We've had a lot of accidents where cars have swerved over and hit others," McGraw said. "With all the four lane plans, we think it will help stop some of these fatalities."

Given that the Georgia Ports Authority says the Port of Savannah is home to the largest single-container facility in North America, the state's freight transport network helps connect an entire region to worldwide economic markets. Grantham said state leaders expect between a 20 to 25 percent truck traffic increase from coastal ports as larger container ships dock there due to the nearly finished Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.

"It adds to the future of rural county economic development not only from the standpoint of truck transportation but also people traveling safely from north to south across our state," Grantham added.

Jefferson County Administrator Adam Brett said the highway expansion opens up additional opportunity for growth and free flowing commerce.

"You hear about trying to take pressure off the Metro Atlanta system. We feel like the widening of US 1 and State Route 17 provides truck transportation specifically a really good option to avoid Atlanta," Brett said.

$5 million of the project funds come from the Transportation Investment Act (TIA), a 10-year one percent sales tax passed by Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) voters in 2012 to fund regional and local improvements. State TIA Administrator Kenneth Franks said TIA has already helped fund the completion of a major GRIP corridor in West Georgia.

"We're proud that CSRA citizens chose US 1 to do the same in the east," Franks said. "This project will help a multi-decade transportation initiative to increase regional connectivity come to fruition and improve both the commercial and commuter driving experience."

Brett said the current TIA came along at an ideal time as communities lifted out of the "Great Recession" years.

"It was a mechanism to survive and allowed us to move our local roadway projects forward when there never would have otherwise been dollars to do that," he said.

There are also three other programmed Jefferson County US 1 projects to be let in the near future, which will complete 21 total miles from Wrens to the Wadley Bypass.

With construction beginning in 2020, the Jefferson County Chairman urges patience.

"We will have delays with the upcoming work, but at the same time we are getting something done that's been years in the making," McGraw said. "The end result will be so much better than what we have now. In a few short years, it will be complete, and we'll move on to the next phase."