Why doesn't Georgia just increase the gas tax

[testa50]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

And don't forget the gas tax will benefit other transportation infrastructure: rail and road to serve our growing port. The gas tax is one of those taxes where it literally goes to one specific thing and actually ends up benefiting the general populace more than it costs. The only way it will cost us and be worthless is if all of the revenue generated goes to add more winding and sprawl servicing roads. This will likely not happen. Technically the tax revenue could go to help build the multi modal facility downtown or a multi modal rail facility to service rail freight in Savannah or here. Both of those projects would really benefit either the entire metro or the entire state.

What does this mean?

[jsimms3]

A multimodal center that can accomodate intermodal trucking and freight rail as well as other modes of moving goods (pipelines, shipping, etc). Many times a port facility is not served directly by rail and there are few instances where all of these routes of transporting goods come together in a large, efficient center.

It would be akin to a multi modal transit hub that serves as a large MARTA bus and rail station, a Greyhound station, transit administration offices, feeding into proposed streetcar and/or light rail, etc.

[cwkimbro]

Well... a couple of points...

1) Under Georgia law Gas tax revenues can not be used by the GDOT for anything other than road projects, so when you doing anything multi-modal the funds can be used, but are extremely limited to road building (trucking/busing)

2) I don't think we need a multi-modal point where all freight comes together. We almost have that in Atlanta and it really creates more congestion than needed. Not all freight needs to go in the same directions or needs to be transferred back and forth via pipeline. Trucks are more than flexible enough to drive to different points in the same area. There are plenty of warehouses where freight can be transferred via truck to rail.

If a single port facility transfers a large amount of goods and is not served by rail that would be best served at working with CSX or Norfolk Southern to make that connection. The Savannah Garden City Terminal has connections to both freight rail operators already. This offers lower prices with direct competition.

The three busiest inland port corridors in the U.S. are Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta. Google Aerial image the Atlanta area and look at the Rail corridor in Northwest Atlanta. There are three really large rail yards here. This is the busiest area for the Atlanta corridor. The Fulton Industrial Blvd area exists where it does in part because it can make use of these yards and in part alot of industrial production in the Atlanta area can bypass the most congested point. It is so congested Even, freight capacity from Savannah to Chattanooga or Birmingham can be rerouted to bypass the congested corridor.

To me when you have all the freight come to a single point you are bringing too much tonnage of cargo to one point. When you do it with people... we are small can walk around. Don't need short term storage and are actively finding our own way from point to point.

Both NS and CSX are working on adding capacity to the corridor from Savannah to Chatanooga (via Atlanta)

I am glad you brought this up though. Everyone focuses on people so much they forget about freight. Freight operations and planning are very interesting and have their own strategies and odd quirks and problems.