Captain Rhett Butler
Driving Instructor
Savannah port has record April as some ships switch from West Coast
The Port of Savannah just had its busiest April on record, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.
www.ajc.com
The heavy rail lines run east/west right through our county. Why can't our economic development team come up with a plan for an intermodal inland port, similar to what there is above Chatsworth? Heavy rail brings in the railcars 24/7 and semi-trucks could move products from the inland port to Eastern Alabama and even West Georgia. Imagine the heavy industrial manufacturing opportunities. There's plenty of heavy industrial sites in Rockmart, Rome, Cedartown, etc. We have plenty of land in West Paulding, from Mt Olivet out towards Willow Springs...right along the rail line...and it's only as very short hop over to 278. I'm not sure west Paulding residents will be happy, but cash money in a paper sack works for most politicians.
We have plenty of labor and relatively good weather compared to the far northeast or even upper midwest. This would alleviate traffic by steering trucks away from Savannah, Macon and Atlanta. Then of course there would be truck stops, truck parts, sales, service, motels, restaurants and so forth. As fast as Atlanta is booming, we need more commercial and industrial investment and less residential.