James Jan-Feb 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 47
players from U.S. Soccer’s 27 different teams will constantly be travelling to and from the facility.
Gainesville Typically, ports are located on oceans or
Columbus The Columbus City Council has given
the green light to begin construction on a new $200
million, 342,000 square foot judicial center that will
replace the current building by 2027. Located directly across from the historic Springer Opera House in
downtown, the new center will include 18 courtrooms,
31 holding cells, 24 judicial offices and around 500
parking spaces. The eight-story building will also include glass-walled upper floors that will allow natural
light into some of the courtrooms.
Covington Electric cars? That’s old hat in this small
Newton County city east of Atlanta. The city will soon
be home to a new Archer Aviation manufacturing
plant that will build the vehicles of the future: electric
air taxis. The California-based developer chose Covington out of 28 prospective sites and has poured concrete at a lot adjacent to Covington Municipal Airport.
Archer’s air taxis are on the cutting edge of the e-mobility industry, still in its infancy. And flying cars are
certainly a risky proposition with many hoops to jump
(fly?) through. If all goes well the Covington facility
could have as many as 1,500 skilled workers by 2030,
and Archer says it plans to work closely with Georgia
Piedmont Technical College and the state’s Georgia
Quick Start program.
Fayette County Atlanta has become something of a
soccer hotspot over the past decade, and with the World
Cup coming in 2026 that movement is showing no
signs of slowing down. The latest development is that
the U.S. Soccer Federation will be building its National Training Center in Fayette County at The Town
at Trilith. The sprawling 200-acre campus will bring a
nearly $230 million investment and 440 new jobs, and
the nation’s top soccer stars from youth teams all the
way to the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams will
train there. U.S. Soccer officials say they chose Fayette
Co. for its “vibrant and culturally diverse community,”
and proximity to the airport— especially key because
rivers, but the state’s newest one is landlocked in northeast Georgia. The Blue Ridge Connector in Gainesville
is a new inland rail terminal that will connect North
Georgia to the Port of Savannah. Every container
shipped by rail removes a 600-mile roundtrip by truck,
removing congestion and wear and tear from the state’s
highways and helping cargo owners reduce their carbon
footprint. State officials say the project will not only
increase transportation efficiency but will also serve as
a magnet for economic development around Gainesville as companies look to take advantage of access to a
direct line to one of the world’s busiest ports.
Putnam County It was a long time coming but an
impressive new three-building, $6.5 million complex
was dedicated in late October to serve as the Eatonton
headquarters and hub for Putnam County’s fire department, ambulance service and coroner’s office. The main
building houses the headquarters featuring a six-bay
area in the middle that contains various vehicles, plus a
dormitory for overnighting firefighters on the opposite
side. A big draw at the dedication were shiny, specialized vehicles— including two new fire and rescue boats
(dubbed Oconee 1 and Sinclair 1) for lake usage, as well
as a giant $1.4 million ladder truck. “It’s all part of a 10year plan to beef up the county’s emergency services,”
proud Fire Chief Thomas McClain says, adding that “I
hope this place is good for the next 50 years.”
Savannah For more than three decades the Talmadge Bridge has defined Savannah’s skyline, towering above the city’s riverfront. But as the nearby Port
of Savannah has grown the bridge presents a problem.
With “just” 185 feet of clearance the biggest ships in
the world can not fit underneath, and even slightly
smaller ones must wait for low tides or remove cargo
to make it underneath. The Georgia Department of
Transportation is pondering solutions— but they’re
going to come with a massive price tag. A new bridge,
which would be one of the tallest in the world, would
cost over $1.2 billion. Alternatively, a tunnel beneath
the river could preserve the current bridge but cost
upwards of $2 billion. Whatever the solution, over the
next decade one of the world’s biggest infrastructure
projects will begin on the Savannah River.
If you’ve got news from your local community and want
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