Governor breaks ground for $73 million port connector | savannahnow.com

Gov. Nathan Deal — golden shovel in hand — led state and local leaders Thursday afternoon in kicking off construction of a key transportation infrastructure component for the Port of Savannah.

The much-anticipated Jimmy DeLoach Parkway Connector, a critical ‘Last Mile’ project for the port, will directly link Interstate 95 and Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal, taking thousands of big trucks a day off busy westside roads.

“Today, we take another step toward making sure companies can get their goods in and out of the port as safely and as quickly as possible, thereby saving time, money and lives,” Deal told the group gathered at the current terminus of Jimmy DeLoach Parkway on the Sonny Dixon Interchange, just off Ga. 21.

When Savannah’s harbor deepening project is completed, Deal said, he expects even more truck traffic, as shipping companies employ larger container ships to move their cargo through an expanded Panama Canal.

“That’s why this project is so important to us,” he said. “Companies using those new, larger ships will need cost-effective and time-efficient methods of transporting goods to and from the port. Our state has worked hard to make sure they have exactly that.

“We have improved our rail and road system so businesses will have the transportation network they need to get their goods where they need to go.”

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