Georgia County Government - July 2008 - (Page 16)

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT continued from page 15 Transportation Initiatives As Laurens County’s 200th anniversary approaches, Rogers avows the county is in a high-activity “transportation upgrade” mode. The county is now paving all school routes and doing all its own resurfacing of most roads – quite labor-intensive because Laurens, at 841 square miles, is the state’s fourth-largest county in terms of land area. “The largest county, Ware, doesn’t have the same problem because it’s mostly swamp,” Rogers reminds. “We have such a large county that this is a major undertaking.” Laurens County is also planning a bypass at exit 257 off I-16 to connect U.S. 441 South to U.S. 441 North, enabling people to bypass northern Laurens County and connect to two major industrial sites, the Airport and the Dublin Industrial Districts. The county is seeking a second Oconee River crossing, in addition to the U.S. 80 crossing in East Dublin. “We need another bridge and are working proactively with the Georgia Department of Transportation to get this built,” Mullis says. “The environmental studies are almost complete, and the design of the project will be completed by the state. We’re also asking the state to fund it, and have met with positive results with DOT Commissioner Jana Abraham.” Rogers and Mullis believe the project will move past the design phase and into construction within a year or two. Both officials are impressed with what they see as a “new, innovative method” within the Georgia DOT to accommodate counties applying for road projects. East Region 1 APAC Industrial Way, Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 731-5230 Fax (706) 731-8620 Riverwatch Plant (706) 731-8616 Dogwood Plant (706) 210-1082 Millen Plant (478) 982-4977 Statesboro Plant (912) 681-2992 Supplying Quality Asphalt Products to Georgia Counties Since 1955 Lonnie D. Joyce • David Hilliard Certiﬁed Public Accountants 18 S. Third Avenue McRae, GA 31055 Phone 229-868-5614 Fax 229-868-2498 Airports Expanding The Laurens County Airport recently garnered a federal grant, which the county matched with state and local funding, to expand the current runway to 6,500 feet. “This will enable any corporate or private jet to land at this airport,” Rogers asserts. “The airport is also installing an allweather lighting system.” The Telfair-Wheeler County Airport is also expanding its runway from 4,000 feet to 5,000 feet, with federal transportation funding, in the near term, according to Arnold Horton, Wheeler County economic development director. “The expansion will help the airport accommodate private jets, and you’ll find this kind of expansion is fairly common in rural airports all over the state now,” Horton asserts. “The design phase is complete, and we hope to break ground on the expansion in the next six weeks.” Horton and Wheeler County Chairman Keith McNeil adds that the airport expansion, it is hoped, will help influence the possibility of expansion of the privately operated prison in Alamo run by Corrections Corp. of America, which houses state inmates exclusively. The 1,700-bed facility is anticipated to add capacity for another 1,000 prisoners. The same company also operates a prison housing federal prisoners in McRae, in Telfair County. Wheeler County officials also hope the health of key local industries, like the Husqvarna lawnmower plant in McRae (Telfair County), which employs 1,400 people from the region, will consider further expansions with the upgrades to the Telfair-Wheeler County airport. Accommodating Growth Trends to house more incoming retirees are just as important in the “heart of Middle Georgia” as in other parts of email: ljoycecpa@davidhilliardcpa.com We Proudly Support Wheeler County 16 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT http://www.reevescc.com http://www.hilliardjoyce.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - June 2008

Georgia County Government - June 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Laurens, Treutlen and Wheeler Counties Work Together to Leverage Economic Development 2008 Hurricane Season Forecast to be Active GDEcD: Georgia Is Bolstering International Marketing Efforts U.S. Communities Announces Auto Parts Service Contract Energy Innovation Center Opens in Warner Robins Coweta County Uses Innovative Road Construction Techniques Counties & The Law: An Analysis of Ten Commandments Displays in Georgia Courthouses Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Talbot County Extension News: Youth Summit Teaches Civic Engagement Research Corner: Train Me! NACo News: NACo Seeks Obesity Prevention Programs County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - June 2008

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