Moving People, Goods Through the Region Is a Snap
Published Feb 29, 2008
Barges on the Tennessee River reach the Gulf of Mexico via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
Thanks to investment in airports, river ports, highways and rail lines, the tri-state region gets an “A” for accessibility.
“The region has multimodal access – rail, roads, aviation and ports,” says Kim Harpe, Rural Planning Organization coordinator for the Chattanooga-based Southeast Tennessee Development District.
“It all works together. That’s why a regional approach to planning is so important,” she says.
Air access is crucial for the region’s continued economic development. In 2007, about a half-million passengers used Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, which offers amenities including free wireless Internet access. “The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport has seen strong growth over the past three years, adding three new airlines and seven new nonstop destinations,” says Michael Landguth, the airport authority’s president and chief executive officer.
In December 2007, discount carriers Skybus and Allegiant Air inaugurated flights from Chattanooga to Columbus, Ohio, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., respectively, bringing to 12 the number of cities served with nonstop service. One-stop connecting service is available to hundreds of other locations.
Smaller Airports Lure Corporate Jets
Elsewhere in the region, numerous general aviation airports make travel easy for corporate executives and others.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue’s AirGeorgia (Airport Initiative in Rural Georgia) program is upgrading many of rural Georgia’s aviation gateways. Perdue’s goal is for every Georgian to live within 30 minutes of an airport capable of accommodating nearly all of the corporate jets flying today.
Dan Ellis, manager of Andrews-Murphy Airport in Cherokee County, N.C., says a modern airport is a powerful economic development tool. “We can use the airport to attract employers. Their executives can fly in and out without having a three-hour drive from a larger city,” he says.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has approved grants for upgrades at airports in Marion, Polk, Rhea and McMinn counties, and he has announced that a new airport will be built in Bradley County.
By Water and Land
One of the region’s most significant infrastructure projects is the $320 million expansion of the Chickamauga Lock on the Tennessee River seven miles upstream from Chattanooga. Scheduled to open in 2013, the 110-by-600-foot lock will replace a 60-by-360-foot lock that was completed in 1940.
“This is the choke point on the Tennessee River. When I was elected, I said we’re going to do something about that,” says U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp.
Wamp, who represents Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District, played a crucial role in securing the funding to get the project flowing.
Annual appropriations are needed to keep construction going, so Wamp remains vigilant. “If this closed, 180,000 tractor-trailer rigs a year would be added to the highways of our region,” he says.
Terah Huckabee, vice president of terminal services for Parker Towing Inc., says barges are an efficient way to move freight. The company is a leading carrier on the inland water system and operates Nickajack Port in New Hope, Tenn., and Centre South Riverport in Chattanooga.
“Each barge will keep 60 trucks off the road and 15 train cars off the rails,” he says.
The region’s well-developed highway and rail systems also move freight efficiently. Served by interstates 75, 24 and 59, Chattanooga is home to two of the nation’s largest truck lines, Covenant Transport and U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. Two major railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern, serve the region, as do short lines including the Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway Co. and the Sequatchie Valley Railroad.
The rail system in Georgia’s Walker and Chattooga counties is getting improvements valued at more than $3 million. Meanwhile, Georgia’s Department of Transportation is studying a high-speed rail link between Chattanooga and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
“Our regional approach works,” planning coordinator Harpe says. “Being collaborative and cooperative allows us to put our best foot forward.”
Story by Bill Lewis
Photo by staff
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