Truck drivers tired of facing road congestion get some good news. Georgia plans to ease traffic congestion on one of the state’s busiest highways. Their solution? Give people with CDL trucking jobs their own designated trucking lanes.
According to Trucks.com, the State of Georgia plans to build two lanes exclusively for truck use. This exists along a popular freight corridor outside Atlanta. Overall, the lanes encompass a 38-mile stretch on I-75. It serves as the largest truck-only project in America, estimated to cost $2 billion.
When the roadway finishes– expected in 2030 – the state may consider adding additional truck-only lanes in the opposite direction.
Overall, the project is ambitious, said Robert Poole, a transportation expert and co-founder of The Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank. Truck-only lanes are usually reserved for short distances. For example, this applies to moving heavy vehicles out of the way of faster car traffic climbing hills.
No state attempted what Georgia is doing without utilizing tolling or public-private highway building partnerships as a way to pay for the truck-only lanes, he said.
CDL permit holders who travel the state often likely rejoice at the news. In addition, the American Trucking Associations welcomed it, too.
“The Port of Savannah expects to grow pretty substantially and generates a lot of traffic along the I-75 corridor. So, yes, it might make sense to add truck-only lanes there,” said Darrin Roth, vice president of highway policy for the American Trucking Associations.
Traffic congestion clogs the delivery of goods nationwide.
The American Transport Research Institute estimates that traffic delays cost the trucking industry about $50 billion annually.
However, people not in the trucking business appear slower to warm to news of truck-only lanes. Overall, they question if money could allocate to other projects. But, for CDL permit holders, truck-only lanes make traveling Georgia’s freeways a lot more enjoyable.
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