Trade shifts from West Coast ports to guess where??

[bellhead]

T-splost was a huge give away to the transportation industry, normal roads would have received only about 5% of the money slated for Chatham county the rest would have gone to upgrading the infrastructure around the ports to provide better access to 16 and 95. I voted against and would again in a heartbeat. Yes there are major problems on the infrastructure around the ports but why should I have to pay more taxes for companies to earn a bigger profit? Tax those companies which benefit directly from those types of infrastructure improvements. Trucking and shipping companies have long gotten a free ride off of the tax payers.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by 912

What an ignorant, stupid comment. Go back to skool.

Dropping I-77 down from Columbia & having it meet I-16 at the Talmadge Bridge would be the most feasible & least expensive solution. A spur could be built to connect HHI/Bluffton further enhancing access.

That's an interesting idea, but probably wouldn't fly in SC for the same reason the state is reluctant to extend I-20 from Florence to Wilmington: it doesn't want to give neighboring ports an advantage. Not only could more businesses in SC benefit from an I-77 extension, but you'd see Charlotte-area businesses beginning to utilize Savannah's port as well, and Charlotte is a significantly-sized logistics/trucking hub already. That would pose more competition to the port of Charleston as businesses in Charlotte utilize it probably more than Wilmington, so it would probably be a no-go.

[Airforceguy]

True, but the Savannah port folks could use the future joint Jasper port as a carrot to extend I-77 down to the Savannah area.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Airforceguy

True, but the Savannah port folks could use the future joint Jasper port as a carrot to extend I-77 down to the Savannah area.

They could, and I'd like to see it happen. It would also be easier for Columbians and Charlotteans to skip down to Savannah for weekend excursions, as well as open some depressed areas up for growth and development. I could see it basically paralleling US 321. I doubt the highway itself would be upgraded to interstate status since it goes through the heart of a few small towns.