Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) - Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation $6.25 million T-SPLOST

Now here's a T-SPLOST project I like: upgrading the railroad that runs from Valdosta to Moody AFB and on to Ray City and Nashville in Berrien County, and Willacoochee in Atkinson County. This proposal is to aid freight, but with this upgrade to the track, the same track would be even more readily usable for passenger rail. That same track was used for passenger travel up into the 1950s. My mother used to catch the train at Barretts (just north of Moody) to go visit her relatives in Pearson (a bit east of Willacoochee).

It's true the project sheet talks about "potential customers in the region":

This project will provide for more efficient train operations along the rail corridor to accommodate the increase rail traffic serving the existing and potential customers in the region.

However, rail promotes development in existing population centers and at stations, unlike all along automobile roadways.

This project is also another example of how the economic area of Moody AFB includes

all of Lowndes County plus Berrien County and beyond, so Jack Kingston's attempt to gerrymander just a green tongue lapping up Moody and part of the Pine Grove precinct and the Naylor precinct but nothing else out of Lowndes and none of Lanier or Berrien Counties is inappropriate and counter-productive to the local economy and communities.

Here is the entire project sheet from the 83 page Draft Constrained T-SPLOST project report for the southern region.

Project Sheet

Project Number: RC11-000077 Project Name: Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) - Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation GDOT ID:   Project Description: The project is to upgrade mainline track consisting of the replacement and repair of rails, ties, ballast and bridge repairs within the mainline to bring property to a state of good repair. This project would provide for the rehabilitation of the track mainline to be brought up to Federal Railroad Administration Class 2 conditions. Regional Commission: Southern Georgia County: Lowndes County Phase Total Project Cost Total TIA Amount PE $250,000 $250,000 CST $6,000,000 $6,000,000 Total $6,250,000 $6,250,000 Comments: Public Benefit Notes Supporting Economic Growth/Competitiveness This project could assist in having a positive impact on the economic vitality for this region, and in some cases possibly for the entire state. Its impact could also be observed along the roadway segment, corridor, and/or intersection. Example benefits could be: improved access to jobs; improved travel times for drivers; increased lane capacity; improved efficiency and reliability for freight cargo/goods movement; providing border to border and inter-regional connectivity; and improve local connectivity to statewide transportation network. Maximizing the value of Georgia's Assets This project could potentially maximize the full utility of an existing transportation facility(s). In some cases, bypasses will be necessary. Example benefits could be: mitigating congestion (e.g. operational improvements) and optimizing capital asset management (e.g. resurfacing, rehabilitation). The impacts would apply to this roadway segment, corridor, and/or intersection. Additional Benefits This project will provide for more efficient train operations along the rail corridor to accommodate the increase rail traffic serving the existing and potential customers in the region. Project Location