House Transportation Committee, March 19, 2026 Video: https://vimeo.com/1175224011 (a timestamp t plays at https://vimeo.com/1175224011#t=s) Page: https://georgiacommons.org/meetings/2026-03-19/house-transportation This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays. [0:23:56] Is that- [0:23:58] Well, I-- let's see. Okay, let's get started. Sorry, you had, we had to have just this, um, girls' softball reunion up here just a moment ago. We didn't know this about... Well, I knew this about our legal counsel. Jenna is very involved in girls' softball, and her daughter, where's she at? On the back row. Stand up and wave for me. Right here, is very involved in, in girls' softball also. And so is Miss Danny. [0:24:29] We did not know that. And then also my daughter was, so we, we're just... I'm sorry we delayed our meeting because we were just yucking it up about softball. And I had to tell them the story about the lady on my, uh, son's team that had a rat that she brought to every game, and paralyzed my team because they couldn't keep their eyes off the rat. I mean, it was terrible. But it was just funny. But I just want to break, get started. Appreciate y'all being here and your interest in transportation. You know, um, I want to thank Danny mostly right now. If you look on her, go to her office right now, look at the, um, road naming Excel file, it's long. [0:25:06] Uh, we have done a, we have done a good job promoting road naming. And thanks to Josh and your partners getting the, you know, making sure we get the roads right, and doing a better job knowing what roads are, are named and not named. And with her help, we'll have a great big group of people to work on. And that meeting will be on the 31st, and we'll do it early in the morning because, you know, that's day 39, so we'll come in and meet early that day and kick it out. We may have a meeting next week. [0:25:37] We're trying to work on, uh, about the cost of inputs into construction projects, and we're trying to find, get data or information I think you'd enjoy and learn from about what rock, cement, asphaltic compounds are doing. So we're working on that too. But, um, we're gonna talk today. You know, we'll go ahead and get on with this. And if Janine wants to come on up, as our planning director for GDOT. And, you know, and she and I were talking yesterday, and on, in your pile, you have House Bill 617. [0:26:14] And this is a product of work that we did a three years ago, I believe. Is that right? Was it three or four? [0:26:21] 24. [0:26:22] 24? Okay. And, um, and you would, it... What she's gonna talk about is reflected in this bill. And really it was for us to make sure that we knew what was going on, and is able to create a freight program that would meet the needs of our state. 'Cause as we know, you know, we had, uh, Georgia Trucking Day yesterday. You know, th- they were all here, had a great crowd, just lots of folks. And, you know, it, it's, uh, very important what we do. [0:26:54] And I, one thing I wanna just point is on line 56, you know, you look through there, and so we defined the areas that we're talking about is international trade zone, inland port zone, commercial and industrial impact zones. Now, these are the things that y'all ask us about all the time, about what we can do about the traffic around those places, the movement of trucks, the, um, overnight parking, all that are around those. And you see it lays out for the planning director to report back to us what's going on, what the plans are. [0:27:30] And it gives us an opportunity to look at it, comment on it, and, and just have a good discussion with the planning director over what's going on. So I just wanted to make... That's why I had, uh, Elliot or Danny print this out so you could take a look at it. And just refresh yourself 'cause you're s- you're wondering, "What the, why are we even talking about this?" And, uh, that's why. So I'll turn it over to our planning director. Uh, thank you for being here. [0:27:57] Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. [0:27:58] Oops. [0:27:58] Thank you, members of the committee, for spending time toward the end of the session here. I know you all are busy beyond words, and, uh, your attention to, to transportation matters today and always is, is mission critical for our state. Um, I'll, I believe we've got cards on your desk too that, uh, is a QR code with a, with a graphic, uh, in case you want to reference the report. Um, I want to... And we also have hard copies if you, you'd like those as well. This is, um, the annual report on the implementation of the implementation plan. [0:28:32] Uh, but I want to give you some background here. I think I've got a clicker. There it is. Great. [0:28:43] Here it is. Okay. Uh, as always, I like to, to start with information about logistics-enabled businesses. We have heard, and we know that Georgia is the number one state for business 12th year in a row. That is historic, uh, for site location. That is companies that want to move here, expand here, relocate, uh, uh, you name it. Since Governor Kemp took office, this is the first six years of his, well, six and a half years, fiscal years, of his, uh, term in office. [0:29:16] There have been $113 billion of private investments announced throughout the state of Georgia. We look, though, at what of those companies are logistics enabled. In other words, they require inbound goods and outbound cargo to get to their customer to operate, to make a profit, and to employ Georgians. That is what a logistics-enabled business is. Um, there have been over 2,100 announcements since Governor Kemp took office. This is through fiscal year '25, so through June 30th of last year. [0:29:49] 88% of the total announcements are logistics-enabled companies. 65% of the investment, $74 billion of private investment that are, are beginning to create over a 157,000 jobs promised throughout the state of Georgia. This is why transportation is mission critical. Uh, one of the facilities that you see there on the right is a company called Aurubis. It's in Augusta, Georgia. They, uh, are a critical source for strategic metals like copper and nickel, and they reduce the United States reliance on foreign imports for AI data centers. [0:30:24] Uh, so that requires cargo. Even the data center input requires cargo. It's a relatively small business, but cri- but, but important work. They have about 40 trucks a day coming and going, as an example of, of a business. [0:30:37] What was... Darlene, what was the name of that again? [0:30:39] Au- Aurubis. [0:30:40] Aurubis. [0:30:41] Yeah. A-U-R-U-B-I-S. [0:30:45] Okay. [0:30:45] In Augusta. [0:30:46] Thank you. [0:30:46] Thank you. So we believe that our history of freight planning in Georgia has helped to support companies making those decisions, those logistics-enabled, uh, decisions here in Georgia go- dating back to our guidebook in 2004. Then in 2012, we won a national award for our freight plan. And in 2023, the Georgia Freight Plan is, to me, the most exciting because it orients most around business that we've, I've ever seen, uh, around the country, and I'm gonna sh- highlight some of that for you today. [0:31:19] Uh, we did an additional planning analysis, uh, and then, uh, the Freight and Logistics Implementation Plan and Annual Report is something that, uh, was birthed out of HB one- uh, HB 617 that you have in front of us. So I'm gonna look back here to the, um, the 2023 plan. This is tonnage in distribution, manufacturing, and food and agriculture growing anywhere from 2 to 4% every year through 2050, essentially means a doubling of freight on our roads and rails. [0:31:51] Uh, the green is, is by train and the blue is by truck. These are our initial estimates. This is da- 2019 data. I'm very much looking forward to, uh, the update of this data that we're working on right now for our, our next implementation plan next year. But this is a significant, uh, impact to our roads, in particular, all this freight that will be moving. And here are the, the routes that we have... our data shows that they run on. I think m- many of you have seen this map before. Usually, if you're seeing our state routes, it's, uh, maybe a, a, you know, a monochrome black and white sort of lines on a map. [0:32:27] But we broke it down by the industry to s- to understand what, uh, locations, geographies, and routes each of these key, uh, sectors are using throughout the state. There are two really interesting things that come out of this to me, particularly food and agriculture. You think of how important for- food and agriculture is for, for the entire state, but particularly South and Southwest Georgia, how much agriculture relies on Metro Atlanta's transportation network to get to market. The other thing that's interesting is for all of these seg- sectors, Metro Atlanta is absolutely critical. [0:33:02] Whether those roads are working or not matters to industry around the country. So we decided we would take a deeper look with, uh, our private sector companies through our Georgia Freight Plan. This is our freight advisory committee. Many... I call this our NASCAR slide. Many, uh, companies that I think you all recognize, of course, shippers that are cargo owners like Home Depot and Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, and then, uh, our carriers, big firms like Delta and Maersk, uh, but also Siphon Logistics. [0:33:39] They're a small to medium-sized Georgia-based company, and they have pr- provided incredible insights to us, as well as our infrastructure partners like the Georgia Ports Authority and Hartsfield-Jackson. And what they told us is, uh, information that helps us tie our freight infrastructure to business outcomes, whether it's reliability, speed, risk, safety, and security. It really all comes down to what's in the middle there, is cost. The less reliable, the slower the velocity, the higher the risk, and the, uh, less safe our infrastructure is, the higher the costs are for all of those infras- all of those logistics, uh, companies. [0:34:17] And we were able to take those business definitions and translate them into infrastructure metrics. And in HB617, those are also reflected. So carrying on through history, we will be looking at freight planning through the eyes of businesses. We will be required to do so by law per HB617. We also had, uh, the way that we think about our in- investments at GDOT is what w- is called the FCI framework, foundational, catalytic, and innovative, building, uh, up to the, to the top there. [0:34:54] Um, in business terms, it's run the business. What does it take to actually just do what you do to serve your customers? Uh, and for, for us, that is things like, um, roadway maintenance, rail grade crossing safety, um, signalization. Catalytic is h- what do you do to... what do companies do to grow the business, to grow their customer base, to expand to new markets? Uh, for us in transportation, that is adding capacity. It's adding truck parking, supporting, uh, inland port movements, rail capacity, airport capacity, et cetera. [0:35:29] And then, of course, R&D. How do you stay on the cutting edge above your, your competitors, uh, in business? And we do that at GDOT with safety technologies, freight collaboration systems, connected autonomous vehicles, and even alternative fuels. Those are also required by HB617 to continue to be in our plan, uh, uh, uh, by state law. So we're very excited about that. One way this then translates into how we choose projects is by looking, uh, in our, we have a statewide travel demand model that goes out to the year 2050. [0:36:03] We can project growth by, uh, cars and trucks on all of those lines on the map that you saw on the earlier slide, and we can predict truck hours of delay, average truck speed from those. We look at our data that we have to look at where there are crashes and how we can address those and potentially reduce crashes with our investments. We look at ports of entry and intermodal facilities, as well as development readiness. If there is a, um, Department of Economic Development grad site or a GRIP corridor activity center or an opportunity zones, those are factors that go into us deciding, uh, what projects to prioritize in advance. [0:36:44] Um, I'll pause there, uh, before I go onto the next segment if there's any questions. Okay. [0:36:50] Seeing none. Seeing none. No, ma'am. Thank you. [0:36:53] As a result of, uh, this freight planning, we are excited that the governor, uh, saw that businesses would be supported with freight investments, and therefore, in his budget, and you all have, uh, approved it in the past three amended fiscal year budgets, nearly $5 billion of state general funds for transportation. This is historic. It hasn't been done, uh, to my knowledge, in decades, uh, since the motor fuel pa- tax came into being in the 1982 Constitution. So GDOT has put these projects to work to improve safety, address bottlenecks, and enhance multimodal connections, and here is the list of those projects that are, uh, underway now as a result. [0:37:35] Uh, these are listed, uh, on, uh, GDOT's website. There's a QR code there. This is the amended '24 and '25 projects, um, and they're listed, uh, here by county, uh, alphabetical order. Uh, some of this are, uh, PE, preliminary engineering and right of way. Those are development activities that have to occur prior to going to construction. Uh, preliminary engineering includes the design of the, of the project, safety aspects of the project, environmental permitting. The right of way is if we have to acquire any land for the, for the pathway of the, the road that is gonna be constructed, and then there's construction and utilities. [0:38:15] These are, uh, impactful projects that both put money to work in construction and employing Georgians right away, and some of those that are building a pipeline for future improvements. [0:38:27] I, I have a question- [0:38:28] Mm-hmm [0:38:28] ... Ms. Dineen. So you look at the phase on those, so most all of them are in the getting started. [0:38:35] Mm-hmm. [0:38:36] Either preliminary engineering- [0:38:38] Mm-hmm [0:38:38] ... right of way. So is there a way that we can look at those, and I guess what maybe that QR code could tell us, where they're at in, um, completion? You know, if you look at a- [0:38:50] Mm-hmm [0:38:50] ... engineering fa- yeah, phase thing, how, where it's at. [0:38:54] Yep. GDOT's website is, uh, excellent in this way. It'll get you right there. That QR code takes you to the webpage that has them listed, and, uh, all of them have a, a little button there that says View, and it takes you to the project details and schedule. [0:39:07] Okay. Well, if you don't mind, we got Representative Prince. Uh, Chairman Prince, excuse me. [0:39:13] Oh, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the presentation. Uh, you just start, you mentioned the planning piece of all this stuff. [0:39:19] Mm-hmm. [0:39:19] And I know earlier this year, you know, I guess, yeah, this session, uh, that we had some, some issues, I guess, with right of way stuff, and dealt- [0:39:28] Mm-hmm [0:39:28] ... with the telecommunications folks. [0:39:29] Mm. [0:39:30] Have we thought about improving, have we, are we addressing that, I would just say? I don't want, I don't know, we can, we're not there yet, but are we addressing those issues? [0:39:39] I would def- defer to- [0:39:40] That would be me. That'll be us. We have a study committee that the chairman, Vice Chairman McDonald, has created to look at that over the, between this year and next year. [0:39:50] I'm sorry about that. I wasn't- [0:39:51] Yeah [0:39:52] ... that's my bad. [0:39:53] All good. [0:39:53] I didn't know about it. [0:39:53] No problem. [0:39:55] It's- [0:39:56] Go ahead, ma'am. Thank you. [0:39:57] Thank you. Uh, so we, uh, encourage you to take a look there, uh, on, on GDOT's website for that information. [0:40:07] But there's more to it. We've got another n- 19 years worth of projects that should be built. Uh, in the Freight and Logistics Implementation Plan, that 20-year requirement of a project list, last year, the 2025 report and plan totaled $63 billion worth of projects that we've identified over the next 20 years. They're in, um, the run-the-business sort of places like bridge maintenance, um, rail and safety. [0:40:38] Um, but the biggest spend there is what are called location-specific projects. It's basically capital construction, 22 billion, and maintenance, 38 billion. Uh, it, it's, we take it for granted how great our roadways are here in Georgia, and it's really, uh, important for businesses, especially those that own trucks and run trucks, that our roads stay maintained. Uh, when they're, uh, the pavement is degraded, uh, tires wear out quickly. Uh, when pavement is degraded and there's potholes, axles get degraded more quickly, and it be- then they create unsafe conditions that lead to crashes. [0:41:16] So that is why we w- are recommending we've got $38 billion so far in our maintenance budget, uh, over the next 20 years. Uh, it's, um, it's not a very flashy, uh, spend, but it's, it's very, very important. Then in HB617, the annual report, uh, has, there are requirements that want to, uh, call your attention to, 'cause that's what the presentation really is, is about today, is this year's annual report. So by mid-February every year, we provide to the, uh, committees a budgetary proposal of state funds for fully procuring federal aid Status of our projects, uh, uh, status of the department's program to deliver projects that add capacity with exclusive use of state funds, and then the status and available funding for all these, uh, fac- these facility and project types, widening of interstates and non-interstates, interchanges and intersections, intermodal, railroad crossing access and safety, uh, commercial motor vehicle or truck parking and safety. [0:42:18] Um, and then, uh, as the chairman was saying earlier, the, the zones, and that is one of... The map that's on the back here, uh, indicates what those zones are and where projects are, uh, for those three, uh, industrial, inland port, and international ocean zones. And then, uh, sort of a broad bucket called projects of significant economic impact. [0:42:41] So by the numbers, our 2025 annual report, there were 311 freight projects in the, uh, 2025 program at GDOT, $2.2 billion total. Uh, 84% of those projects are on schedule. Um, in terms of foundational, catalytic, and innovative, as you may, as you recall from earlier, we'll continually be reporting out on those. 971 million were, uh, for resurfacing 816 miles of pavement, um, either fixing or replacing 38 bridge projects and addressing 30 railroad crossings. [0:43:22] Catalytic included 141 lane miles of freight road capacity and 12 multimodal projects, uh, around the port, intermodal ports, and rail. And then we had five technology projects, uh, that were things like connected vehicle pilot programs, um, expanding freight data sharing tools, and broadband, uh, expansion on our interstate highways. [0:43:48] I'll stop you just one second for me. [0:43:50] Mm-hmm. [0:43:51] Just in that catalytic, when you look at that multimodal freight projects- [0:43:55] Mm-hmm [0:43:55] ... I guess I look back on the QR code maybe or whatever to see what those are. [0:44:02] Mm-hmm. [0:44:02] If someone were interested in kind of defining, looking at- [0:44:06] Mm-hmm [0:44:07] ... either was the rail crossing in their area, or was it a freight- [0:44:11] Yep [0:44:11] ... that's, that's in our wire bound? [0:44:13] They are in the wire bound- [0:44:14] Okay [0:44:14] ... and on the, at the QR code on the card. [0:44:16] Super. [0:44:16] Yeah. [0:44:17] Thank you. Vice Chairman McDonald. [0:44:20] Mr. Chairman. Uh, looking at the bridge projects, um, for 2025 or, um, the 38 bri- bridge projects that you have here, how many did we do in '24, '23? Is this a new number of focusing on, uh, fixing some of the bridges? [0:44:39] Yeah, and, and s- some of the bridges, the bri- the 38 bridge projects might have been a PE phase. Some of them, unlikely, might have been a right of way phase, and some of them might have been construction. So it's both the capture of the development of the project and the construction. So it might not have been a 38 total that got replaced or fixed. [0:44:55] And I, I guess, so my, my question is, when we, when we did, uh, truck weights, you know, it was a very complex seven hours, I think we almost sat in here. We even missed oyster night for Savannah for truck weights. And, uh- [0:45:08] It's all right [0:45:08] ... I don't know if we have... I'm good. Um, but my, my point is, all that went into the truck weights and the debate from that. [0:45:15] Mm-hmm. [0:45:15] Don't you think that probably helped and opened our eyes that, that we had some bridge issues in Georgia that we needed to address and for future? [0:45:23] I think awareness became broader. Uh, I can tell you though, GDOT has never c- c- taken its eye off of that ball. Uh, we have by federal requirements, we have to inspect, well, we, bridges have to be inspected every two years. So GDOT takes that on both for state bridges and for local bridges. So we are constantly looking at, at bridge conditions and, if necessary, posting weight limits. Uh, so that's where those come from so that we can keep our bridges safe. But yes, I think it did broaden the awareness of, of that. [0:45:55] And, um, s- with some work that I did, uh, at USDOT, we found, uh, that bridge conditions are, were, are critical for rural areas in particular. Uh, where there might be a bridge posted or out in, in rural area versus urban, uh, rural trips b- have to go three times the distance out of their way versus urban to find the pathway over that railroad crossing or waterway. [0:46:20] Gotcha. One, one other quick, quick question, Mr. Chairman. Uh, 816 miles of resurfaced, uh, highways in Georgia, is that a lot or is that not enough? [0:46:31] Uh, these are on freight routes, so it, it, it, it might not be absolutely everything. Uh, and it's a great question. 816 to me is an impressive number, especially considering the cost of doing business and maintaining, uh- [0:46:44] What's the miles? [0:46:44] ... conditions. [0:46:45] What's the cost per mile, roughly? [0:46:47] Uh, I don't have that off the top of my head. Josh, do you happen to have that top of mind? Pop quiz. [0:46:52] Off the top of my head, it's probably [0:46:53] Well, let me go circle up. [0:46:56] It's not a game show, Josh. You can't phone a friend. I'm just kidding. No, I just, I, I just want- [0:47:01] Great question [0:47:02] ... I, I didn't, it, it, is, you know, I, you know, I like to see more. [0:47:05] Mm-hmm. [0:47:06] And, and I just wonder if that's, if that's a normal number, is that, uh, are we resurfacing more than we did in '22, '23? Are we, are we, are we budgeting for, for, uh, for the future? [0:47:18] We probably wouldn't do the same amount of miles every year. Uh, it wouldn't necessarily be a consistency there. But we are, uh, uh, taking a, a very close look at this for the next four-year spend and the 10-year spend. We know in the next four years we're, we are not going to be able to maintain as many roadways as we should. Uh, and w- we certainly know in the 10-year look it's going to be a bigger problem, uh, beyond that, uh, particularly for interstates. Uh, but that's not the only type of road that's going to be in, uh, a maintenance backlog that will need to be addressed. [0:47:55] And I would add, Vice Chairman, that inflation has played such a, a part on the 200 million we put in for resurfacing. It's just worth so much. It goes so much... Not as far now. Sure. That's the, that's the big issue that, that's going on there. 14, uh- [0:48:13] And I'll have a slide on, on that later down here. [0:48:14] Okay. Our, our newest member, Representative Fincher, has a question. [0:48:20] You kind of flipped over that broadband, and I don't, I... You may have gone over with, with this group before and explained that. [0:48:26] Mm-hmm. [0:48:27] I've never heard about it and was curious about what that is. [0:48:30] It is relatively new, and it is rela- very innovative, uh, for state DOTs. Uh, we are installing broadband fiber optic cable along all of our interstate highways throughout the state. That is not just one cable, but many strands. And we're doing it in a way that we've, we're able to commercialize the extra capacity and sell it to private providers of internet service. And we believe ultimately it will bring down the cost of rural broadband because w- there's more, um, middle mile, uh, capacity throughout rural areas. [0:49:05] Uh, it is done through a public-private partnership, and, uh, John Hibbard, who's gonna come up later, I think, and, and talk through another topic, can probably give you more detailed information if you'd like. [0:49:16] Sure. [0:49:17] It's a, it's a great, great project. I'm very excited about it. [0:49:22] Thank you. Go ahead, please. [0:49:25] All right, so another one of the requirements, and you can see the OCGA reference there in the header, um, budgetary proposal, uh, of state funds to fully procure federal aid funds. Uh, well, we had, uh, $944 million of formula funds for freight projects. We were able to match all of those. That's the term that, that is used in our, uh, in our l- line of work. Uh, it's a non-federal match, so it's a contribution from the local or state government. Uh, and we were, uh, able, able to actually overmatch th- thanks to HB 170, uh, that was, uh, uh, that decade-old, um, uh, gas tax and other taxation improvements. [0:50:07] Th- if it weren't for HB 170, we would probably not have been able to fully procure the federal funds. Uh, also, we were able to spend on top of this, there's, uh, an- another notation in the full report, $645 million additional for state only funded projects. Those are important because then we're free of the f- federal permitting requirements and other aspects that drag out project development and delivery. [0:50:39] We're building a pipeline, too, although, uh, 93% of our spend last year on freight projects was for construction. We had, uh, a, just, uh, PE right away and some planning going forward, again, to keep the pipeline in development so we can have construction in future years. [0:51:02] We get to the economic zones as laid out in the law, international trade zone in blue, uh, inland port zone in green, and commercial and industrial impact zone in yellow. So ocean trade within 20 miles of a deepwater port, inland port 10 miles of a GPA operated inland port, uh, including the one in Murray County, Gainesville, and, uh, Bainbridge. Commercial within five miles, these are projects within five miles, or count- Let me, let me back up, is counties that are within five miles of a commercial warehouse, uh, facility that's larger than 200,000 square feet. [0:51:42] Those are lit up in yellow. And you can see we've, nearly $2 billion of the $2.2, uh, billion are in these industrial zones, showing that we're in the right location for these investments. In fact, 277 of the 311 projects are in these economic zones. You notice there's some areas that are grayed out, and it's important to know that those are, uh, those particular counties are highlighted here in pink, have agriculture as their primary economic driver. [0:52:15] This is not to say that these are the only counties doing agriculture. Of course, there are many counties in those yellow and, and blue and green zones that also have high agriculture output. But these that are shown here in pink, um, are, uh, the generator of $3.7 billion, or nearly 20% of the statewide farm gate value output, uh, last year, and that's per UGA's report. Of course, farm requires, farming requires inputs, uh, to production and, uh, outbound, uh, transportation for the goods to market, the crops to market. [0:52:51] We're also required to report on critical projects th- and the remaining cost to complete th- these projects. These are by, listed here by project type. Interchanges, intersections to operational improvements are the, the biggest bulk of those, uh, types of projects. And as I mentioned before, there's a pipeline, so in 2025 that was the authorized amount of funding, but there are future phases of those projects, remember the pie chart earlier, that we can predict right now are gonna cost a total of $626 million in future funds. [0:53:24] I'll interrupt just a second. I didn't call on Representative Cox. I think he wanted to ask a question. Oh. [0:53:33] Yeah. Thank you. And thanks for the update on the inland ports. Um, and I had, um, requested as far as the study and the impact that it was gonna have, since I represent part of Hall County and Forsyth. [0:53:47] Uh-huh. [0:53:47] And just wanted a quick update on the port in Gainesville, how far along are we, and status on the study. Thank you. [0:53:57] Uh, great question. On the, on the port itself, I don't have those specific points. On the study, we actually did, uh, a s- an area, uh- ... wide look, kind of zoomed in on the inland port and all the roads that would be impacted by the additional flow to and from the inland port there. Uh, that study is done, and if we don't have it in your hands already, it's my apologies, uh, and I'll- [0:54:18] Okay [0:54:18] ... make sure you get that today. [0:54:19] Yeah, that'd be help- And I would think for everybody, I mean, Chairman, it's up to you, but I think everybody in the, in the committee, it'd be good for everybody to just see how that impacts the community. [0:54:27] Oh, yep, absolutely. [0:54:28] Okay. Thank you. [0:54:29] Yeah. Um, i- important to note, uh, one of the, the GPAs, uh, I, I was not involved in the exact selection, but I know that, that inputs to their selection process include places there's already a lot of trucks going. So the purpose of the inland port is to enable those, uh, that cargo to get there from, to and from the port on rail instead of by truck. So there are, there's already a, a propensity of, of cargo movement in the area around the Hall County Port. [0:55:03] There was already gonna be a lot of trucks there. The, and what happens is that the, the rail takes some of those, those longer hauls off of the, of the roadway. [0:55:15] Okay. Um, there was also the projects of significant impact. So these we deemed as projects that are on the state freight network that received state general funds, uh, in the, prior to amended fiscal budgets, um, were programmatic projects on, uh, on state routes that address safety and congestion where there's a lot of trucks, and certain rail projects that increase capacity and improve state of good repair. Uh, out of the 311, roughly half of those were considered significant economic impact, um, totaling $1.5 million. [0:55:51] Those are some projects that are pipelined too. Some of them, uh, some of these 155 are just for preliminary engineering or right of way, and will have future phases that will cost $510 million. [0:56:04] So looking forward, it's, uh, it's important for you all to know if you haven't heard how, if you haven't been on Atlanta roads, which I know you have, lately, how congested, uh, the conditions are here around the metro area. 16th worst in the world and seventh worst in the country. Um, between 2023 and 2025, uh, our traffic increase lo- hours lost to delay increased 23%, third highest in the country. Um, and metro Atlantans and those traveling through lost, uh, $1,400 per person, 75 hours lost to traffic in Metro Atlanta, 50% higher than the average. [0:56:45] This will be something we address in next year's freight plan. We will also be addressing how many trucks are being, um, uh, moved through in terms of truckloads. Um, 15 tons per resident moved in 2024, increasing to 75 tons moved per resident. In essence, that is the equivalent of three truckloads per person in Georgia. That's not just Metro Atlanta. [0:57:15] So as more people move here, it's not just through trucks, it's not just the port, it's those of us who are consuming and, uh, and discarding of goods that is growing the truckload as well. Looking forward in our next year's plan, we're gonna be, uh, talking more about bottlenecks. You might have seen this, heard about this through the amended 2026 budget proposal, the I-75 South in Henry County. That is, uh, a mission critical project, not just for the state, but for trucks throughout the country. [0:57:49] Georgia has, uh, a total of nine bottlenecks on the top 100 list. The only state that has more is Texas. Um, four of our five, uh, bottlenecks that are in the, you know, top 20, we're addressing those already through other projects. That number 10 in Henry County was not being addressed until the amended budget, and I'm, uh, wanted to let you know what our next steps are on that. Uh, that $1.7 billion of state general fund appropriations will include next steps of costing plans, NEPA, that's environmental permitting, and a financial plan. [0:58:25] Then procurement can begin within two years. We have to get through those, that step one before we can get to procurement. And then once we get to construction, we believe it'll take roughly five years to complete. So we are underway, working. It's just infrastructure can't go fast enough for us all, I know. [0:58:42] Could you take a moment, director, and talk about the, uh, financial plan? [0:58:47] Mm-hmm. [0:58:47] We talked about that yesterday. [0:58:49] Mm-hmm. [0:58:49] How integral that is to- [0:58:51] Mm-hmm [0:58:52] ... what you can do. [0:58:53] Yeah. Uh, the financial plan includes how much revenue can be generated, and therefore how much infrastructure can be supported with those revenues over multi decades, um, uh, 30 to 50 years. So that is a traffic and revenue study. We count the cars, we count the congestion, we, we make assumptions about what's called the willingness to pay. Um, and it's based on socioeconomics factors, and these are expert firms who do what's called a, um, uh, investment grade analysis. [0:59:26] That means they can go to Wall Street with those dollars and get bonds, revenue bonds, uh, to support the, the financing of the project. [0:59:34] Representative Donatucci has a question. [0:59:40] Oh, oh, it's Vance. I'm sorry. [0:59:41] Her, her twin brother. [0:59:43] Yeah. 24. Excuse me. I thought we- [0:59:44] No, that's fine. I'm fine [0:59:44] ... we misidentified you. I'm sorry. [0:59:46] Talking about that 75 corridor, what about, kind of where are we on the truck-only lanes down there? [0:59:52] The, the truck-only lanes are going through the environmental permitting process right now, and we are hopeful that we're close to that, uh, and have that permitting completed by the, approvals completed by Federal Highways by the end of the year. Fingers crossed. [1:00:06] So we're in 2026. F- second question, Mr. Chairman. Uh, we're in 2026. [1:00:13] What, what, what's kind of our goal to actually begin, or put it out for an RFP and try to start construction? Have we got a long range goal on that? [1:00:22] Well, it is a long range. Uh, it's, it's roughly 40 miles of, of roadway and two lanes in each, in one direction. Uh, so I'm not exactly sure of the dates on that. We can get that to you. But it will take a good long time at procurement. Just because we're done, might get done with environmental permitting doesn't mean we're not, we're done with en- engineering, and that's the other big piece of the puzzle. [1:00:45] Right. [1:00:46] Um, financing will be a part of that, but not toll related. [1:00:49] Right. [1:00:49] Okay. [1:00:50] Thank you. Appreciate [1:00:53] it. [1:00:54] Go ahead, ma'am. Please. [1:00:55] All right. Looking forward into our next freight plan, uh, safety challenges are, uh, are throughout the state. We had 16, about roughly, roughly 16,000 truck related crashes throughout the state, uh, each year. That's 4% of, of statewide crashes, but as you know, when a truck crashes, it's very difficult to clear that crash and it's often creates a lot of damage. Um, so the, the social cost of crashes per ton mile is rising, uh, from seven cents in 2019 to nine cents, and that's per ton mile. [1:01:31] You saw how many more tons are gonna be moving. So we will be looking at how we can address, uh, safety for trucks, and truck parking is another challenge. Um, you might see trucks parked on ramps and on the side of interstates and it is regrettable to all of us that that happens. Um, it, uh, though 88% of truck parking spaces in Georgia is supplied by the private sector, this is not a, a GDOT problem to solve in the, in the, in its entirety by any stretch. In fact, what we are only able to do is, is provide a fraction of what truck drivers really require on their long breaks. [1:02:09] They want a safe place, uh, to rest. They want a place that they can, uh, maybe take a shower, uh, maybe get some hot food, and feel safe and secure, uh, throughout all of that, their cargo in particular staying secure. And the, the best, uh, supplier of that is private sector. So we're gonna be examining how we can work better with the private sector on truck parking because drivers spend almost an hour a day, that equates to about $5,500 of lost compensation a year looking for a place to park. [1:02:39] Vice Chairman McDonald has a question. [1:02:41] Uh, I want to go back when you were talking, reading something on the, on the truck crashes. And, and going back, as I mentioned truck weights before, um, when we were having the testimony, uh, from, uh, commercial vehicle enforcement then, then MCCD at that time, we a- they talked about all the truck crashes. But I don't see breakdowns in, in years of, of service in a, in a certain field that I have worked a lot of truck wrecks. I would say almost 85 to 90% of those were people trying to beat a truck, you know- [1:03:17] Yeah [1:03:17] ... it get, you know, or a distracted driver in a car. [1:03:20] Yeah. [1:03:20] And truck drivers are, they're kind of professionals. They drive all the time. It's what they do. [1:03:23] Yeah. [1:03:24] Um, and I'd, I would love to see the breakdown when we talk about truck crashes, how many, how many are the other vehicle's fault? I think that's an important story to tell 'cause they couldn't tell that story and we're using the truck crashes- [1:03:38] Mm [1:03:38] ... as part of, of, "Hey, we," you know, "it's the truck's fault." But I, I beg to differ and I'd just like to see that somewhere in a slide because that's not being fair to, to truckers. [1:03:48] I agree. Totally. And this, uh, these data points were not in any way to insinuate fault. Uh, we, w- we can- [1:03:54] Understood [1:03:54] ... do deeper dive on that. Uh, it is very hard sometimes for cars to understand how long it takes a truck to stop. Um, and, uh, it, and there is, uh, it is a system, right? We're, we're all in this system together and we have to drive safely together and, and you're right about, uh, the, the professionalism of our, of our truck drivers and- [1:04:16] I appreciate that. I just, I would like to see that number one day. [1:04:18] Will do. [1:04:19] Thank you. [1:04:19] They, trucks carry 80, 80% of our cargo, so, um, they're, they're, they're critical for us. Um- [1:04:26] I just one question I want, before we move on, on truck parking. I know we're looking at our rest areas. [1:04:32] Mm-hmm. [1:04:32] Have we... Where are we at on the planning of, of identifying extra space? [1:04:39] Mm. [1:04:39] Where are we at on that, or just? [1:04:41] We have found, uh, and I, I hope my memory's gonna serve me, uh, well here. I believe we found, we've examined every truck, uh, uh, parking opportunity at all of our wa- at, uh, rest stations, rest areas as well as weigh stations- [1:04:55] Good [1:04:55] ... and visitor centers. So everywhere we as a state own a place a truck could park, we've looked to see if can we engineer more spaces in the right of way that we have that, and that would be safe. I think the number is somewhere around 400 truck parking space opportunities that we could supply, and it's not at a cheap cost either. Um, there's NEPA and environmental permitting that's required and engineering. But we're proceeding with that as best as our dollars will allow. [1:05:23] Sure. Okay, next, uh- [1:05:25] And if 400 doesn't sound like a lot, it's because it's not. [1:05:28] It's not- [1:05:29] Um- [1:05:29] ... compared to the need, yeah [1:05:30] ... and, and they happen to also be in areas that are more rural. Where we have the biggest truck parking challenges are on the fringe of metro Atlanta, where- [1:05:38] Okay [1:05:39] ... we don't have as many rest areas. [1:05:40] Well, I think this one has lit up the board for some reason. We got interest. Representative Holly. [1:05:46] Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for, uh, Ms. Miller, for being able to give us this very, uh, very definite report. Um, I was actually, while you were giving it, uh, me and Representative Cox were just looking at the, the fact that literally the top, the t- top three, um, areas of bottlenecking in the entire country is just coming around 285. [1:06:11] Mm-hmm. [1:06:12] Um, which is tremendous. I was kind of curious in terms of the, um- The necessity of working with local governments for providing a lot of the... Gonna be the procurement, um, on these extra land, you know, that are gonna be around the highways to relieve the bottlenecking. Is it, is this... Do you find that it was more of the challenge to rework the space that you have, um, as opposed to actually acquiring more of the land that's, you know, on the periphery of the highways? [1:06:40] Let me make sure I understand your question. Is it related to roadway, uh, capacity improvements, or is it related to truck parking? [1:06:46] Uh, not truck park, but yeah, roadway capacity improvement. 'Cause i- in terms of, of alleviating the mess of the bottlenecks, you know, in terms of just, you know, how has it been? Are you... You know, I would imagine, but you can correct me, um, that you're having to acquire more of the property that's along the periphery of the existing highways in order to build out to make sure that these, it doesn't bottleneck in the future. [1:07:10] As best we can. [1:07:11] Yeah. [1:07:11] Yeah. Um, it's a... The right of way acquisition process is, uh, is very, very long standing at GDOT. They have best practices in the country and, and as t- tight a timeline as they can deliver. But when, uh, you're acquiring land, sometimes it doesn't always, uh, go as planned. [1:07:28] No. I, I totally get that. I was wondering as well, um, 'cause when you were looking at the necessity to finance these projects, and, um, you had mentioned something about, um, a factor of w- of willingness to pay. [1:07:42] Yes. [1:07:43] Being there. [1:07:43] It's a technical term. [1:07:44] Okay. [1:07:44] Yeah. [1:07:44] No, that's fine. That's fine. [1:07:45] Yeah. [1:07:46] Um, is there any way for, in terms of just kind of better understanding, um, the financing that would be required for this in terms of the knowing the, the formula, uh, for what is typically used? [1:07:59] Uh, it is a very involved process- [1:08:01] Okay [1:08:01] ... uh, that requires models, surveys, um, uh, uh, deep analytics, uh, and economic analysis. It's a very robust process. It, it can take up to a year to ascertain what revenues we can project and bond against. [1:08:19] Mm. Okay. [1:08:20] Yeah. But we can keep you updated on that as we go through the- [1:08:24] Yeah [1:08:24] ... process over the next couple years. [1:08:24] It, it would be nice just, just to, uh, 'cause I, I'm sure it's, it's, uh, you know... We already have state level and always looking for, okay, well what... You, you've been able to do an effective ob- job of telling in terms of what private industries are gonna be necessary, especially for running these, you know, these cable lines directly through the highways that, you know, they have a lot of private investment in there. And, um, you know, it would be nice to just kind of, um, you know... We're not, we're not the analysts here, but just to be able to kind of see, okay, well, um, in the way that you've explained it in terms of what critical factors, um, that are con- being considered in order to actually attract that private level of investment. [1:09:02] Mm-hmm. Yeah. It, it, it truly is the ubiquity of, of roadways throughout the state. I don't know if you've heard of the GRIP Corridor Network? [1:09:10] Mm-hmm. I have. [1:09:10] Georgia Governor's Road Improvement Program. Uh, that has been, uh, kind of our secret sauce, I think, in attracting private businesses in- [1:09:18] That's- [1:09:18] ... in rural areas. [1:09:19] Thank you. [1:09:23] We have other questions we'll get to. [1:09:24] Mm-hmm. [1:09:25] We have the star of the show, number 10. Representative Jenkins. And I say that in a- ... with love. [1:09:33] Probably not after this question. [1:09:34] Well, yeah, but I will brag on you committee. Uh, Representative Jenkins got the airport bill through the Senate Transportation yesterday. [1:09:41] Yeah. Thank you. [1:09:42] And, uh, yay. That was great. I mean, did a great job answering the questions. Did a really, I mean, first rate job. I really brag on you. Thank you for your work on that. [1:09:53] Oh, I appreciate it. [1:09:54] I did, I did a good job picking the group, didn't I? [1:09:56] Well. [1:09:58] Leave the trash. [1:09:58] You least picked him. That's right. No. Go ahead. [1:10:03] Okay. So we're number one for long-term truck parking on an exit ramp, and that's not a list I wanna be number one at. I see 88% of parking spaces are privately operated, and to me, it just doesn't look like that's getting the job done. Down my corridor, you know, I see the truck stops, and we're building more parking at truck stops, but I don't see anything happening. I don't see any movement to, to make, to take us off that list anywhere. [1:10:34] Uh, I know our, our interstate property is the most precious property we have. Uh, and, you know, and again, we put some of this at truck stops, but the idea of just massive truck parking lots appearing on our interstates, I, I don't see it happening. I'd really don't think the local governments welcome them. W- what, what is the, uh, what's the way forward on this to fix this? [1:10:55] Uh, that's... It's a great question. Uh, and thank you for being so thoughtful about it. You're right. There are, uh, um, we are on some list, uh, that number one. A- and another metro area that's on that very high, the top of that list is Indianapolis. [1:11:10] Yeah. [1:11:10] Uh, this is a nationwide issue. Uh, and there are grants. We've applied for a federal grant, uh, hoping to hear back from that soon, uh, to help us get started on this a little bit more. What we're, uh, going to examine is the ways that we can use our public-private partnership law, which is one of the best in the country, enables us the flexibility to have gotten Georgia 400 express lanes underway, uh, with no cost to the taxpayer. Uh, we have the broadband public-private partnership. We've, so we've found a way to innovate with that, that this is our next frontier in public-private partnerships is with truck parking. [1:11:48] Okay. Sounds good. Thanks. [1:11:53] Chairman McDonald. [1:11:54] Chairman McDonald. You kinda hit on the, the, the, you know, you kinda answered the private, you know, um, partnership. [1:12:02] Mm-hmm. [1:12:02] And I think that's, you know, you gotta fi- we gotta figure out ways to expand that. You think, you look at going up 85 at all the growth, you know, when you see empty- [1:12:11] Mm-hmm [1:12:12] 500 and something thousand square foot, uh, warehouses that are sitting with empty parking lots, do then ... There's no incentive to go talk to those people for truck parking because I, I guess when people start parking trucks on private property like those, you get kind of that CVS law where, all right, you know, are you gonna get sued if something happened on it? [1:12:32] Right. [1:12:32] And that's where they ... That's probably where you get your issue and pushback- [1:12:35] Yeah [1:12:35] ... from using that, big spaces and areas like that. [1:12:38] Mm-hmm. [1:12:39] That, that ... Is that what you hear? [1:12:40] Yeah. I, I- [1:12:41] So- [1:12:41] You could say that we have plenty of asphalt and parking spaces, they're just not open to trucking, to truckers. [1:12:46] Yeah. I figured that, that as much. Other, the other quick question. 285, we've, we've, we saw the map and, you know, the west, east, north. Uh, the project that's gonna start this summer, is that a resurfacing project or is that expansion of 285? [1:13:01] Mm. [1:13:01] When we look at it, uh, that's gonna ... [1:13:04] The project that's gonna start this summer on the west wall? [1:13:07] Yes. [1:13:07] That is, uh, simply a, uh, an overhaul of the pavement that is there today. It has been crumbling, uh, for years, and the cost to simply patch it have outpaced our, our ability to ... That's b- w- we want to make sure we're shoring that up from, uh, in many places all the way down to the foundation. [1:13:27] Gotcha. [1:13:27] You know, so it's a reconstruction- [1:13:28] So it's, it's a- [1:13:28] ... of the west wall. [1:13:29] Okay. [1:13:30] Yes, a very- [1:13:30] So pretty detailed [1:13:31] ... very, very expensive project. Um, but i- it's, it is, um- [1:13:36] Night project? Gonna have, have it at night or- [1:13:39] Not sure of the schedule on that. That was, that would be in the commissioner's, uh, s- space to, to answer that question. I'm not sure of the schedule. I, I would assume we're gonna probably do, try to do a lot of it at night and those of us who are Braves fans hope it won't be during Braves games. [1:13:51] All right. Thank you. [1:13:52] Uh, either. [1:13:54] During a Braves game. Oh, my. So Representative Donatucci or Sirs Advance? [1:13:59] Yes, ma'am. [1:14:00] Yes, ma'am. Oh, here we go. There you go. [1:14:02] Thank you so much for all of this. Uh, just as you, as you're talking about everything, it, it's really overwhelming. I know there's just so much going on. But if you go back to the freight projects, um, there's 19 projects on that page, and I know, uh ... [1:14:18] What page are you on, ma'am? [1:14:20] I ... There's not a page number. [1:14:22] Bottom right. Bottom right. [1:14:23] It's the one before t- [1:14:25] Um- [1:14:25] ... 13, which would be 12, but I don't see 12 on the page. [1:14:28] It, yes, it is slide 11. [1:14:33] So- [1:14:33] I believe [1:14:34] ... uh, just on that page, like I said, because there's 19 projects on there. [1:14:38] Mm-hmm. [1:14:38] Are those all taking place? And I did not see, uh, the Gwinnett County listed, I guess because that's an upcoming. Is that ... That's not my question, but I just didn't see that one on here. [1:14:49] These are the only the projects that are funded with the State General Fund. [1:14:53] Okay. Okay. [1:14:53] And, and one of the reasons that some of these were chosen is because we, we didn't have money for them, they were farther out. The State General Funds allowed us to advance them 'cause they're, uh, really high priority projects, um, or they're construction ready to go. So we were, uh, mindful of the delivery schedule too on construction. There would be Gwinnett projects in the longer list. [1:15:15] Okay. [1:15:16] Yeah. [1:15:16] But so are all of these taking place simultaneously? [1:15:19] Yes. [1:15:20] This is a lot of moving parts. [1:15:22] Yes. [1:15:22] And so are they, um, so they're not waiting in line, like this one goes and then the next one, they're just all moving at the same time? [1:15:28] A- as fast as the engineers, our right of way folks, permitting folks, and construction delivery folks can move them, yes. [1:15:35] Okay. Thank you. [1:15:37] Yeah. [1:15:37] Jackson. [1:15:38] Yes, sir. [1:15:39] I would have to agree. When you first learn about this, it's just amazing, all these projects going on at the same time, and this is just a freight and logistics side. We're not talking about the regular stuff that's roundabouts and all the other things that are out there. [1:15:53] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. [1:15:55] Let's see, who was next? Chairman Hitchens. Uh, yes, sir. [1:15:59] I really appreciate the list of all the projects when seven of the first, uh, eight are in my district. And, uh- [1:16:05] You got some pull, Chairman. [1:16:07] Well, I don't have any pull. I've got the port in my district. And, uh, you know, we have 15,000 trucks a day that go in and out of the port. [1:16:13] Mm-hmm. [1:16:13] And this parking issue is just tremendous- [1:16:15] Mm-hmm [1:16:15] ... because the property around the port for miles is so valuable- [1:16:19] That's right [1:16:19] ... uh, nobody's gonna buy it up to put parking spaces in there. [1:16:22] That's right. [1:16:22] They, they put the containers in there and, and, uh- [1:16:25] Mm-hmm [1:16:25] ... you know, now the trucking, uh, industry, uh, is, is, uh, the hours that they can drive is checked through, uh, electronics. [1:16:33] Yeah. [1:16:34] So they can only drive so far. And, and, uh, they get into the port, they sit there two or three hours trying to get loaded. [1:16:39] Mm-hmm. [1:16:39] And it's, and they have to wait because, you know, now they all have what we used to call port security cards, but you have to have a card to get in there, and they have to get checked, and they're backed up. And, uh, they utilize their time and they get out, and there's nowhere to park in that area. [1:16:52] Mm-hmm. [1:16:52] And, uh, from my experience on the state patrol in that area for years and years- [1:16:57] Mm-hmm [1:16:57] ... you know, they, they park on the ramps, which isn't too terrible. But when you park out on that interstate in the dead of night and you've got your lights on, there are a lot of people, particularly those that may be afflicted with alcohol or drugs or even people my age that don't see well anymore, uh, they run into the back of them. And it's just like with the amber arcs. You know, you, you hit a hog or a cow, uh, the, uh, the absorption of the energy is, is taken up by the bumper and, and, uh, front of the car. You hit a horse, and he's up higher and he comes through the windshield and, and kills somebody. [1:17:31] Well, it's the same thing with a tractor trailer. You run into the back of that thing, because of the large size of the wheels that hold the loads- [1:17:37] Far [1:17:37] ... they're up high. [1:17:38] Yep. [1:17:38] And you slide up underneath it, and, uh, it, it's a- almost always a fatality. [1:17:42] Yes. [1:17:43] Um, it's, it's, it's horrible. And there's nowhere to park there. [1:17:45] Mm-hmm. [1:17:46] I, I really, uh, am proud of the fact that the welcome center is now and, and, uh, and the weight stations- [1:17:51] Mm-hmm [1:17:51] ... are allowing people to park, and, and that's, that's some, but it doesn't remedy 15,000 a day. [1:17:57] No. [1:17:57] Mm. [1:17:57] That's, that's correct. Yeah, and, and you're correct too about the e- electronic logging devices. As a federal regulation, uh, monitoring the hours of service, that is when we saw nationwide the truck parking problem emerge, when that enforcement went into place. [1:18:13] We have one more ma'am, Representative Holly. [1:18:16] Thank you, Mr. Chair. And actually, I was just... She just left the room. I was going to, uh, um, inform Representative Donatucci that, you know, for these spiral-bound books that you've given us, um, that I believe on page 20, um, which is, I guess it's, I'm not sure. It's not numbered, but after page 16, um, you know, you- you've been, uh, so kind to be able to give a, a breakdown of every county and with the expected projects, um, you know, with their dates of completion. [1:18:49] Mm-hmm. [1:18:50] Um, and so, uh, you know, I, I think there's something in here for everybody, um, in terms of knowing, you know, not only the date of completion, but also, um, the state general funds are gonna go sort of per project. [1:19:04] Mm-hmm. [1:19:04] Um, so at least it's something. Um, thank you for putting that in there, um, 'cause even while, you know, we appreciate seeing House Bill 1617 and the explanation of what those monies allotted are going to contribute towards these projects, but also for us to be able to explain to locals back home, um, when these dates of completion are o- o- on the calendar. [1:19:23] Mm-hmm. [1:19:24] So that's very helpful. Thank you. [1:19:26] Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Please go ahead. [1:19:31] Okay. Uh, lastly, all of that in the face of rising costs and constrained resources. I think you might have seen the commissioner with this slide, uh, during his appropriations presentation. Uh, we all know th- th- the PPI and the CPI, uh, having gone up as much as it did, how much more it costs, uh, for household, uh, expenditures. It was exponentially more, uh, increased cost for National Highway Construction Cost Index, uh, going up nearly 70% since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. [1:20:08] And what you can see there on the right is GDOT's budget. So the costs compared to our budget, uh, are simply we're, we won't, we won't be able to keep pace. So this, um, Representative Hollyer, the, the schedule for things now, we, we hope that these will be able to stay on schedule, but it, it, we're not optimistic that all of them will considering the, the, the cost challenge that we have. Were it not for the amended state, uh, budget with the state general funds, we would, uh, be in a very, very bad condition. Um, so, um, lastly, just wanted to h- the look forward here is the f- the freight plan. [1:20:42] The historic state investments, uh, in 2026, that is the last one that we know of. We can't count on that in future years. Uh, so our 2027 state freight plan, the Georgia freight plan, is, uh, going to, um, comply with the implementation plan with the business factors that we discussed, uh, as well as, uh, address these, uh, other headwinds as I guess you could call it amongst, amongst other things. So that concludes my presentation. Thank you, Chairman. [1:21:13] Okay. I have a, we have a few questions. Representative Jenkins. [1:21:19] Yes, just looking at the, uh, National Highway Cost Construction Index, wh- why do, why is that outpacing all of the other indices by so much? [1:21:30] Uh, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and there were other federal w- uh, spending plans that were put, uh, into, into action, uh, since that time, uh, put a lot of demand on the same materials, people, equipment that we use in construction. And it was, uh, I believe, I'm not an economist, but more demand, not as much supply, prices went up. [1:21:56] I gotcha. [1:21:56] Across all sectors. [1:21:57] And I see it's kind of crested and looks like it's maybe, maybe dropping off a little bit, but it's not, it's not going down that much, is it? [1:22:02] We don't see it ever coming back to where it was. [1:22:05] I gotcha. [1:22:06] Yeah. [1:22:07] Following up on Representative Jenkins' question, Janine, you know, we use that National Highway Construction Cost Index. I would love to maybe to see what ours is. [1:22:19] Yes. [1:22:20] Or even, even, I don't know, if we could do it ours regionally, I think it would be a better- [1:22:24] Mm-hmm [1:22:24] ... snapshot of what's going on in our area. [1:22:29] Absolutely. [1:22:29] If it's possible. [1:22:30] The, the commissioner's, uh, presentation had those numbers in it by- [1:22:35] That are specifically like for rock, for- [1:22:37] Yes [1:22:37] ... what, you know, concrete, all that. Yes, I remember. But altogether, that would be, be able to compare that. [1:22:44] Indeed. [1:22:44] And I think you look at something like that, Representative Jenkins, you can imagine what some other states are. This is the average. Some are so high and some are not. [1:22:53] Mm-hmm. [1:22:54] Okay. Any other members have any questions for, for the, our planning director? I see none. I just want to thank you just for the, uh, the ease of discussion. That's what I wrote down about this plan. You know, when we talked about doing it, and if you look at what you did last year, you know, that was the first one, and now this one. [1:23:14] Mm-hmm. [1:23:15] We've, this is so much more detail. [1:23:18] Mm-hmm. [1:23:18] So much, um... So we learned how to do it and learned how to do it better. [1:23:21] That is- [1:23:21] And I thank you for your team for working so hard on it too, giving us something that we can talk about and share, like Representative Holly said, with others. [1:23:29] Yeah. Thank you. [1:23:31] And when we try to raise more money, this'll be a, a good tool to use. [1:23:35] Yeah. [1:23:35] All right. Next up. Thank you, Miss. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you for being here. [1:23:41] Yeah. [1:23:41] All right. John? Come on up. You can, whichever way if you like, you know, you can... Look here. Do you have like a van? Do you have like a big board that, that Josh is gonna have to hold up? [1:23:54] Yes. [1:23:55] Well, we, we appreciate that. Now, this one really is, is from, for some member who asked me, who has an electric vehicle, about the NEVI program plan. If you remember, members, the NEVI plan was, um, a couple of years ago, the Biden administration, we're, um, awarded, uh, I believe 130 million [1:24:20] 130- Formula money. Yeah ... to, to create a better network of charging stations throughout our state. And, um, we were talking about it, and someone asked me about where are we at on this? And I said, "Well, you know, I don't know." And, uh, I look forward to hearing, uh... John, tell us, tell us who you are and what, I don't think you've been in here, what you've been doing all these years and- ... and all that kind of good stuff. All right. Well, I'm, I'm John- Whoa, excuse me a minute. Let me turn it on. There you go. Is that better? [1:24:51] There we go. Yes, sir. All right. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is John Hibbard. I am deputy chief engineer, uh, at Georgia DOT. I've been at DOT, what, 11 years or so. Um, spent a lot of time in the private sector before it. Uh, I've focused a lot on transportation and technology. Hear, hear. And so here we are NEVI. We can also be here we are broadband if, if that is the current desire. I have a question about that. We can go to that in a few minutes. But, but you get the idea. Yes, sir. So, so I'm here today to give you a little update on a, on what to me is a, a, a unique, certainly unique, um, federal program that is called NEVI. [1:25:30] So if that's all right, I'll kind of sketch that for you. Yeah, you just have that floor as your excuse me. Yes, sir. The, the two boards here and the paper that was handed out to y'all, it's all the same, okay? Whatever works best for you. Um, the NEVI program was something that was within that, was part of that IIJA passed back in late '21. And so NEVI for our, in our world, is what we call formula funding. So everybody gets a certain amount of money. How is that determined? By formula, and you cited the, the number, Chairman. [1:26:02] Um, it is 80% federal money, um, as much is, um, so much of the time when we say 80% federal, well, the 20% is state. In this case, we did it a little bit differently. It's 80% federal, 20% by the proposer that proposed. In fact, they're, they're bringing some money to the table as they propose on these. I'll get to that more in a minute. The guidance that was proposed, and you cited that it, this was a Biden administration, uh, concept. [1:26:34] Um, each state had to develop its own NEVI plan, and we did that. Um, each state must first address these things called alternative fuel corridors, AFCs. Uh, yeah, more acronyms, sorry. Um, and AFCs in Georgia were, are principally the interstate routes. We added a few AFCs. We kind of, we submitted them over time before, before NEVI ever happened. Um, and we, um, we added a few routes that were non-interstate to address potential evacuation needs, evacuating out of Florida, evacuating in from the coast. [1:27:12] Um, the plan had to ensure that we would have chargers, chargers that were powerful enough every 50 miles along those corridors, and no greater than every 50 miles. And it also took into account private sector chargers that were potentially already in place. Um, so as you look at how things played out, Metro Atlanta was already, even at the beginning of NEVI, was already in pretty good shape. [1:27:46] It had chargers powerful enough easily, uh, covering that 50-mile spacing. So the needs of NEVI and the dots you're seeing on those maps are principally away from Metro Atlanta because that's where the 50 mile... That's where the gaps were most noti- noticeable as you get away from Atlanta. Um, the rules that were, uh, published by the administration forced kind of a different look on how we would procure these things because it wasn't simply go build them. [1:28:24] It was, um, that they would be built and operated and maintained for five years. So it's- Five years ... it was not just a classic grant program, and what we ended up ha- And the recognition that states, Georgia included, but by no means solely Georgia, didn't want to maintain these things. We didn't want to own them and operate them ourselves. That's not something that frankly fits in our core line of what we do. And so we wanted to engage the private sector to do it, likely at existing businesses, a variety of existing businesses. [1:29:01] Get you more on that in a minute. Um, and so they ended up going the route of public-private partnerships, P3s. Uh, in the, uh, in Janine's remarks earlier, we talked about P3s. These were P3s, too, although the P3s that we, that Janine talked about that we are so accustomed to are big projects. These are little bitty projects, bunch of little bitty public-private partnerships. Um, we, um, identified over 30 sites that we had to put chargers at to satisfy the requirements of that plan. [1:29:39] We did it first in a bunch of five. We put five of them out there. Those five are the ones that are, uh, colored in red, right? Is it the red ones? They're green. They're, they're the... Green? Okay. Green. All right. Uh, the five that we started with are along I-75 in, uh, Byron and Tifton, along I-16 in Dublin and Metter, and then one in Brunswick. We started with those, frankly, to make sure that our business of procuring these things worked like we had thought it would, and so we started with those five. [1:30:13] Um, two of them, all of those five are well underway. Two of those five will be operational within the next 30 days Uh, specifically the Byron site, uh, which is in a Wendy's parking lot, and the Dublin site, which is at a racetrack, um, fueling station. So we moved on from those first five and put a bunch of them out in what we called our round two, and that's the rest of the dots on the map. And that ended up, we, we put out 33 sites. [1:30:45] Um, we got responses on 26 of them, and so we are moving forward with the 26 sites. But however, as we were about ready to literally open the envelopes on those round two sites, the current administration put a pause on the NEVI program. Everything stopped. That was February of last year. And so we literally, I mean, froze and stopped everything. [1:31:18] It was not clear what the next steps were, so we... It's not like we undid anything, we just stopped. Um, and fortunate that we did it in that manner because by September of next year, they removed the pause, and so we picked back up again, first, after reaching out to all of those that had proposed saying, "Hey, are you still, are you still interested? I mean, time has passed, you know. Are you still interested?" Um, and so we are just now, we have just now authorized those sites, those 26 sites, um, and we're going fast towards executing the contracts with those folks so that they can get off, get, get going, get, get underway. [1:32:06] So that's, that's the program where we are. It's, it's, it's... To me, it's an unusual one. Uh, it's, it's not typical that we're in the business of putting in things that fuel or power vehicles. Uh, we tried to respond to it in a manner that best, um, fit with the industry and how these things are, are typically accomplished, and that ended up in that P3 path. Uh, we got the first five underway. [1:32:36] The next 26, um, were kind of held up a bit, but they now are underway, and so there's where we are with NEVI. What questions can I answer for you? [1:32:53] I have just one to get started with. So how much money have we s- we'll have spent at the, when these, you know, I guess it'd be 30 now, so total, I guess, of round one and two- [1:33:06] Yeah [1:33:06] ... have left? Where are we at financially with this? [1:33:10] There, there is, there is money, there is money remaining. [1:33:13] Yes, sir. [1:33:14] Um, notable money. Oddly, what I've got here before me is, is the average cost per site and things like that. I don't have the grand total sitting in front of me. Shame on me. But we, we have a significant amount of the balance of that 135 million- [1:33:29] Yes, sir. Yeah [1:33:29] ... that, that remains. We had to do these, these that you see before you on the maps, we had to do these first, addressing those corridors, before we were freed up to do what comes next. [1:33:45] And what is gonna come next? [1:33:46] What come next- ... it depends upon what... We will work with Federal Highway Administration to determine what the rules and the, and what they will allow us to do as we move forward. [1:33:59] Yes, sir. [1:33:59] Because that's been our challenge throughout all of this, and I've kind of skipped over some of the business where they publish the rules, and then, uh, they pause the program. Then as they thought, as they undid the pause, they changed the rules. [1:34:14] Sure. [1:34:14] And, um- [1:34:15] Yeah [1:34:15] ... and they can do that. And, um, and so it, it is well within the possibility that the rules will change again. So we will continue to work with our Federal Highways partners to arrive at a plan that fits with what they will allow us to do given this new program. Something else that is- [1:34:35] Do you feel... Go ahead. Excuse me. [1:34:36] If I may. [1:34:36] Yeah, please. [1:34:37] Something that literally as we speak is happening is that the current administration published a rule, uh, for comment, which that comment period is closed. We're waiting on them to finalize this rule that would change the requirement for what's called domestic content, domestic US content- [1:35:02] Oh, yeah [1:35:02] ... in these chargers from 55% domestic content to 100% domestic content. I- if they do that, and we don't know yet, because literally the comment period closed Monday, um, that stands to profoundly shape things moving forward as well. [1:35:23] Oh. Just in an availability of 100% domestically made? [1:35:28] Yes, sir. [1:35:28] Okay. We'll move on here to Representative Jenkins. [1:35:33] Do you have any read on the utilization rate of this, of these charging systems? Are they... I know, uh, the res- electric vehicles, I don't think they've, they've, they've sold quite as well as people thought they would. [1:35:44] Um, certainly these, these NEVI ones that I'm citing, none of them are open for business yet. The private sector, um, charging si- stations... An odd factoid for you, during that pause period from February of last year to September of last year, um, because I was doing other research, during that time period, the private sector installed 400 and some odd charging ports in Georgia, fast ones. [1:36:14] So it's like, how about that? Um, th- the private sector, the data I've seen indicates that the chargers that are out there are being used. They are not quite being used to the ... desired frequency, desired extent, they're closer than you might have expected. Yeah. [1:36:39] Mr. Hibbard, do you have, um, I guess w- just, just thinking out loud here, do you have a m- a map that, that you guys have created that really show, like, those 400 and all the other, uh, fast chargers that are out there that, that y'all look at so that helps you determine where you're gonna put these at? I mean, I think- [1:37:00] We, we have that kind of information. The... And, and note that the number of privately owned, operated, installed chargers is, is a number that truly is changing frequently. I hesitate to say daily, that sounds kind of trite. [1:37:17] Mm-hmm. [1:37:17] But, uh, but there are, there are new chargers that continue to be installed. But yes, we have that information. [1:37:23] Okay. Thank you. [1:37:24] Yeah. [1:37:24] Number 18, Representative Cox. [1:37:28] Thank you. And, uh, I think it's kind of off of what y'all were saying. So Fulton County, uh, Forsyth, I think even Fayette, those are pretty much the heavy EV- [1:37:39] Mm-hmm [1:37:39] ... counties, right? [1:37:40] Yeah. [1:37:40] So when I look at the map, I don't see anything in North Fulton and Forsyth- [1:37:44] Yeah [1:37:44] ... at least as it's related to NEVI, and we do have Georgia 400. But then as you come down into Fayette, I don't see much there. So my question would be, I'm assuming there's additional federal funds that can be used for that. That's one. And then the follow-up to that would be, um, when going to these charging stations, um, many times the, the charging stations, some of them are out of, out of use. [1:38:15] Mm-hmm. Yep. [1:38:16] And then some of the others are the slower chargers and making sure. So- [1:38:21] Mm-hmm [1:38:21] ... in NEVI one and two, do we have the fastest charger, charging stations going on? [1:38:28] Um- [1:38:28] So that, so that, that's my two questions. Thank you. [1:38:30] Okay. I'll, I'll... I'm gonna... There you go. I, I'm, I'm gonna unwind all that, 'cause you, you had, you had several things in there, and they're all good ones. Thank you, um, for asking them. Why nothing in Forsyth, uh, Fulton as quick examples? Because even as we started this NEVI process, there were enough fast chargers privately installed to meet that 50-mile criteria. And so as you look at these before you, or before you, um, in front, you don't see anything in, in Atlanta proper. [1:39:06] Because Atlanta proper, as of 2022 even, much less today, had enough, powerful enough chargers to blanket, cover that 50-mile spread that is needed. Now that we have, or now that we will have, uh, completed these initial, um, corridors, perhaps things can, can change some. Looping to another question, all of the NEVI chargers are powerful chargers, 150, um, kilowatts minimum. [1:39:43] They can install faster if they want to, and some of them have chosen to do that, by the way. [1:39:48] Mm-hmm. [1:39:48] Um, what's being installed today by the private sector, uh, well, it's everything. But I- I'm seeing with some frequency 350 kilowatt chargers being installed by the private sector. The ones that NEVI required were 150 kilowatts and four ports per site. So four cars could charge, and all of them could get 150 kilowatts if they wanted to, if, if their car could stomach it. [1:40:19] So those are, those still are regarded as good, powerful chargers that will charge the typical electric vehicle, electric light vehicle, sedan, truck, in about 20 minutes. [1:40:33] Good. Th- Mr. Holly. [1:40:37] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, and thank you for providing us with this update. Um, I think to my colleague's point with respect to Metro Atlanta, we're not seeing that because you're saying that you already have those existing facilities there. Are... Is that true for other areas of the map that were, you know, kind of as it further goes out outside of I-20, you know, have private actors been able to, or private businesses been able to provide that for the electric vehicle market that are not particularly seen on this map? [1:41:07] Yes, because this, the map that is before you only shows the NEVI ones. [1:41:13] Okay. [1:41:13] If I, if I reran that map, so to speak- [1:41:16] Mm-hmm [1:41:16] ... and put everything private that was equivalent to NEVI on it, it would be covered up pretty tight. [1:41:22] Okay. [1:41:23] And it's been interesting, interesting, since this NEVI thing began practically for us in '22, and here we are today, right? [1:41:30] Right. [1:41:30] Um, it's been interesting watching the growth of chargers. Uh, whether it's the growth of chargers in, uh, Metro Atlanta- [1:41:38] Mm-hmm [1:41:38] ... which you can kind of figure that one out, right? But it's also seeing the growth of chargers elsewhere throughout the state. [1:41:45] Yeah. [1:41:45] Yeah. [1:41:45] No, and, and, and it's good. I... For me, it would, it'd be great as well, I know, um, with, uh, you know, Governor Kemp, he's always mo- you know, really been pushing transportation forward. [1:41:55] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. [1:41:56] And, um, his approval of Georgia Power to get this, uh, $10 billion, uh, uh, actually it's, it's, it's 10 gigawatt, um, build out- [1:42:06] Yes [1:42:07] ... for the, uh, electric grid- [1:42:09] Mm-hmm [1:42:10] ... for the, um, I guess, you know, for eventually it's going to be able to help create the infrastructure necessary for the data centers. [1:42:17] Mm-hmm. [1:42:17] I know that's, we haven't really take up a lot of that- [1:42:20] Sure [1:42:20] ... this time around, but I'm sure it's our future. Um, it would be interesting to see that, um, if capacity is built to allow for these data centers just to be online, if that, if they themselves actually might be, um- kind of a, a, a, a assistive, uh, partnership in allowing for local customers to be able to get access to immense power since that, uh, capacity will be built i- in order to accommodate, uh, their vehicles as well. [1:42:49] Good point. Good point. I, I, I don't know. I'd, I'd love to hear the, I'd love to hear the presentation that responds to that. [1:43:00] Thank you. I just have... This is probably a Josh question, but, okay, after five years, what's the deal? Is it they- [1:43:09] After five years, they are the... They become the property of the developer that put them in. [1:43:18] Okay. [1:43:19] They're theirs. Um, and oh, there was a, a, um... My apologies. [1:43:23] Yeah. It's all right. [1:43:23] There was a, a, a question you, you raised about, um, reliability. Everybody pulls up to these things and they're not working. Um, and that is a, an interesting... It was a very high bar set in this NEVI, um, rules that, that required 97% uptime, and that caused a lot of, of raised eyebrows because at the time they, they wrote that, um, the general feel of the reliability of chargers out there in the wild was nowhere close to that. [1:43:54] All right. [1:43:54] Yeah. [1:43:54] Wow. [1:43:55] Good point. [1:43:55] I guess my last question, and, um, it'll be the last one, I believe. [1:44:02] So do y'all have any ideas or plans about after round one and round two? I mean, I, but I do wanna see, like I'd love to see maybe an electronic, if I can look at it, see what's- [1:44:13] Okay [1:44:13] ... else is out there- [1:44:14] Yeah [1:44:14] ... just by curiosity. Or have... Or at that moment, will we have built enough and we need to do something else, you know? [1:44:21] Well, I, and I think that... You see, we want to make sure that we don't go far afield of what Federal Highways is gonna allow us to do anyway. [1:44:30] Yes, sir. [1:44:30] So really what happens as we kick off, what I'm gonna call, what I'm calling round two here, is to then go, go immediately to Federal Highways and say, "Okay, here we are. We, we have done what we said we would do in rounds one and two." Uh, the phrase that was used throughout this was called fully built out. Uh, and we will submit to them, we'll say, "We are fully built out." And if they say, "Yes, you are," which we would hope, then we're gonna go to... [1:45:04] Our next statement to them is gonna be, "Okay, let's sit and talk about what, what is on the table for us to contemplate going forward." [1:45:11] Sure. Either broadband or whatever- [1:45:14] Yeah [1:45:14] ... thing that you think, y'all, you think is important. Well, great. Well, John, you did a great job. [1:45:21] Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank y'all. [1:45:23] You know, es- especially on short notice. I appreciate. But we have one last bit of business before we adjourn. Joe Santora. [1:45:32] Yes, sir. [1:45:32] Come to the microphone. You know, this guy's head of DTA. There's just a few of us left. How's your new baby? [1:45:39] He's doing great. Thank you, Chairman. He's a little over two months old at this point, so he's been, uh, he's been a joy. He really has. [1:45:46] Great. Well, we, we just said we always wanna keep up with you and new, and all that new things going on in your life, and we appreciate all y'all do. [1:45:53] Thank you, Chairman. Appreciate you and the committee members. Thank you. [1:45:55] Yeah. Our meeting's adjourned. Thank you. Thank y'all for staying. [1:45:59] Thank you. [1:46:10] Elliott, we won't talk about when I looked over there and your eyes were almost shut.