Columbus, Georgia

For Immediate Release:



February 17, 2005







CHAMBLISS-ISAKSON INTRODUCE INTERSTATE BILLS







WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson,

R-Ga, today introduced two pieces of legislation that would propose two

new interstate highways. The first bill would create a study regarding

Interstate 14, which would link Augusta, Macon, and Columbus, Georgia,

connecting through Montgomery, Alabama and going to Natchez,

Mississippi. The second bill would create a study regarding

establishing Interstate 3, which would link Savannah and Augusta,

Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee.







Both highways are designed to remove through-traffic from existing

two-lane roads, while providing economic stimulus for communities

bypassed by existing interstate highways.







"Creating these new interstates will also deliver highway equity to vast

regions of the South that were shortchanged by previous construction

cycles," said Chambliss. "Many in these regions still suffer from the

lack of economic parity with America. Eighty percent of jobs in America

are located within ten miles of an interstate. It is my hope that the

addition of 'I-3' and 'I-14' will also provide much needed economic

development and job creation for these regions."







Said Isakson, "These two interstate highways would provide vital links

between communities across Georgia and the Southeast and would breathe

new life into our rural areas that desperately need economic

development. I look forward to seeing a study that shows how we can get

these two highways built."



The senators said the 3rd Infantry Division Highway Initiative Act is

named for the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart - the

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. 'I-3' would provide a

long-needed North-South interstate access for Augusta, Georgia's second

largest city and would provide a direct interstate link between Fort

Gordon in Augusta and Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.



The senators also said the honorary name of the "I-14" plan provides

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.







"It may take a decade to bring these projects to full completion," said

Chambliss. "They are not a quick or easy fix, however they are the

necessary, equitable and common sense solutions."







Both bills 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 inter-state highways.











For more information, contact Chambliss' press office at 202-224-3423 or

Isakson's press office at 202-224-7777.















Chase Daughtrey

Office of US Senator Johnny Isakson

100 Colony Square

Suite 300

1175 Peachtree Street NE

Atlanta, GA 30361

404-347-2202 office

404-347-2243 fax

229-322-2275 cell

chase_daughtrey@isakson.senate.gov