It seems the timing on my first infrastructure post was impeccable. GDOT announced on Thursday that it would seek federal funding for rail. It even cleared up my question, to a degree, on where the missing link from Louisville to Atlanta was. Well, President Obama’s plan has it missing, but apparently the various state DOTs do not have it missing.
Once the interim plan is complete, GDOT will continue to develop a plan examining needs for a blended freight and passenger rail system. The final plan will include an inventory of all rail assets, screening criteria for improvements to the system and funding options.
If approved for federal funding, GDOT would work with sister states such as South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama on an environmental review to include all high speed rail corridors in Georgia. GDOT also plans to work with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida in further development of an interstate rail passenger compact which would connect Atlanta to Chicago via Chattanooga and Atlanta to Miami.
