[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S1720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CHAMBLISS (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Lott, and Mr. 
        Cochran):
  S. 459. A bill to require a study and report regarding the 
designations and construction of a new interstate route from Savannah, 
Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee; to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, today we are introducing legislation, 
two bills that I hope will pave the way to correct a half a century of 
transportation inequity in the Southern United States.
  First, I am introducing a bill, supported by Senators Isakson, Lott, 
and Cochran, that proposes a new interstate highway, Interstate 14 or 
``I-14,'' linking Augusta, Macon and Columbus, GA connecting through 
Montgomery, AL and going all the way to Natchez, MS.
  Second, my colleague from Georgia, Senator Isakson and I are 
proposing the creation of Interstate 3 or ``I-3'', linking Savannah and 
Augusta, GA to Knoxville, TN.
  In the 108th Congress, Senator Miller and I introduced these bills. 
If passed, they would require the Secretary of Transportation to study 
and report to the appropriate committees of Congress, before December 
31, 2005, the steps and estimated funding necessary to designate and 
construct these new interstate highways.
  These proposals are multi-purpose plans. They would naturally improve 
the interconnectivity and highway safety for those in the Deep South. 
Also, they would help provide the badly needed economic development to 
areas of the South ignored by our current interstate grid, and improve 
the national defense highway linkage for which our interstate system 
was originally designed. In addition, they could help provide critical 
environmental improvements for the entire Sunbelt region by reducing 
the air pollution and traffic congestion in some of our major 
gridlocked southern cities.
  The honorary name of the ``I-14'' plan helps to provide symbolic 
recognition to the promise of economic parity to freed slaves which was 
implied with the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868. As the South 
struggled to overcome four years of devastating war and find a way to 
integrate the newly emancipated slaves into the full benefits of 
citizenship, Congress passed this amendment, guaranteeing equal rights 
for all Americans.
  I am convinced that this area remains largely isolated from the 
economic expansion that transformed much of the rest of the South 
starting in the 60s. Many in this region still suffer from the lack of 
economic parity with America. Eighty percent of jobs in America are 
located within 10 miles of an interstate. In this case, there are 
regions where there is no interstate. It is my hope that the addition 
of I-14 will help bring and provide the promising economic development 
and much needed jobs to this region.
  The 3rd Infantry Division Highway Initiative Act is named for the 
U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart--division that served 
as the ``Tip of the Spear'' in the War on Terror in Iraq and whose 
soldiers conquered Najaf, seized Saddam International Airport and 
Saddam Hussein's palaces, and led the fighting on the day of Baghdad's 
historic liberation. The proposed route for ``I-3'' would provide a 
highway link between strategic defense interests in our region 
including Fort Gordon, Eisenhower Army Regional Medical Center, the 
Augusta Veterans Administration Hospitals, Fort Stewart, Hunter Army 
Airfield, and the Port of Savannah among others. In the process, we 
will provide long-needed North-South interstate access for Augusta, 
which happens to be Georgia's second largest city. It will also provide 
a direct interstate link between Fort Gordon in Augusta and Fort 
Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, which would serve both 
facilities well in warding off base closures now and in the future.
  It may take a decade to bring these projects to full completion. They 
are not a quick or easy fix, however they are the necessary, equitable 
and common sense solution.
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