ATLANTA – Effingham County Day at the Capitol participants welcomed Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Commissioner Russell McMurry’s words like a long, lost friend.

“I just want you to leave here today knowing that you have a partner here at GDOT,” McMurry said Jan. 30 at GDOT headquarters.

Effingham Day at the Capitol was Jan. 29-31. Officials from the county commission and Effingham cities attended the annual event where they bring local concerns to state representatives. Also in the delegation were Monty Veazey, president & CEO, Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals; Brandt Herndon, CEO, Effingham County Industrial Development Authority; and Jan Southern, president of J. Del Sur Marketing.

Effingham County needs partners as its transportation needs are growing at a rapid rate. Its proximity to the Port of Savannah and the Bryan County Megasite make it a residential and commercial hub.

“… (Transportation) certainly has a really big impact on us as citizens of Georgia and, obviously, on business, which you guys are doing pretty good in that arena and will continue to do very well,” McMurry said.

McMurry thanked the group for visiting the GDOT office to share their concerns. “It takes local representation at the city level, at the county level, and at the state level and the federal level. We all have to work together and know what is going on locally,” he said.

McMurry said GDOT has more transportation funding available now despite last year’s temporary suspension of fuel excise taxes by Gov. Brian Kemp. The move was prompted by soaring prices at the pump. Georgia roads are largely funded by taxes of 31.2 cents per gallon for gas and 35 cents per gallon for diesel.

GDOT’s current budget is just over $2.3 billion.

“Our budget has been made whole,” McMurry said. “In fact, we never slowed down anything that we do.”

The financial gap was filled by a dip into the state’s burgeoning “rainy day” fund. GDOT was also bolstered by a historic infusion of federal money last year.

McMurry added Georgia will eventually have to find a new source for transportation funds because of the advent of electric vehicles, which will lessen the need for fuel purchases.

Unfortunately, GDOT funds aren’t stretching as far as usual.

“You may have noticed this in your personal life – like we all have – that things just cost more,” McMurry said. “We competitively bid our construction projects, and we take the lowest responsible one. We do that on a monthly basis.

“… The average of the lowest bids that we accepted (in 2022) were 122 percent above what we budgeted for so we are seeing about a 22 percent increase in overall costs.”

Expenditures for bridges and roundabouts are up even more.

“A lot of the things that we do in our projects are based on the price of a barrel of oil because a lot of (the materials) are petroleum based, especially asphalt,” the commissioner said. “When you see the prices at the pump go up, just know the cost of resurfacing (streets) is going up.”

Projects are also becoming more expensive because of rising property values where they are needed.

“We have tried to think about how to advance things smarter and, hopefully, take some of the risk out of it for contractors because we have to continue to advance these projects and keep people mobile,” McMurry said. “It’s all about the mobility of people and goods, and doing that safely.”

Effingham County has 75 bridges and 863 miles of roads. More than 100 miles of roads and 36 bridges are maintained by state government.

“(Effingham County government has) most of the mileage (responsibility) but about 56 percent of the traffic volume is on the 103 state miles, so a bigger portion of miles are traveled on a daily basis on the state highways than the county roads and the city streets,” the commissioner explained. “That is not unlike (Georgia’s other counties). In fact, it’s about 60 percent (of the volume) statewide.”

McMurry commended Effingham County for passing the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) that helps pay for its infrastructure needs.

“That helps you move things forward,” he said. “That is very important. When it comes to transportation funding, there is never enough.”

Earlier in the day, Rep. Bill Hitchens told Effingham Day at the Capitol participants that he and Speaker Jon Burns, a fellow Effingham County resident, are continuing to push for Georgia Hwy 21 to be “six-laned,” an idea that McMurry seemed to support.

“Leave here knowing that (Hwy 21) is top of mind for us,” McMurry said. “Do we have the money in the bank ready to go (to pay for the project)? No – not at this time – but that is something that we all look forward to.

“That is why we meet. That is why we prioritize.”

The Effingham County delegation also met with State Transportation Planning Director Jannine Miller, who told the group:

·         The amount of cargo that passed through the Port of Savannah increased by 20 percent in 2020-2021, and that amount will continue to increase.

·         GDOT is working with area industrial development authorities to devise solutions for traffic issues. The Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Georgia Ports Authority, the Coastal Regional Commission, Norfolk Southern, CSX and an assortment of consulting firms are also participating in the process.

·         According to a recent GDOT study, 75 percent of the cargo that lands at the Port of Savannah is initially stored in Effingham and surrounding counties.

·         Agriculture is going to grow about 45 percent and manufacturing is going to grow over 75 percent (in Georgia) over the next 30 years, and

·         The focal points (for GDOT) are I-16, I-95, Georgia Hwy. 21, Effingham Parkway, and U.S. Hwy. 80. “Those are our key corridors and intersections all throughout there,” Miller said.