Frank Lumpkin IV started advocating for Interstate 14 when he was a Columbus high school student. Four years later, he started lobbying Congress to take action. Here are the next steps to making I-14 a reality.
Plans for Alabama’s newest interstate, I-14, progress in US Senate
A new, five-state highway that includes central Alabama and runs from Georgia to Texas was approved for designation in the U.S. Senate this week as part of an amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure spending package.
The first 25 miles of I-14 were already established in central Texas, but the amendment proposed by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to the infrastructure legislation Tuesday that was approved in a voice vote would designate several corridors of the highway linking Gulf Coast states and stretching from Augusta, Georgia to Midland-Odessa, Texas.
“We expect that the Senate infrastructure package will be voted on soon and sent to the House for consideration,” said John Thompson, chairman of the I-14/Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition, a group that has been building support for the interstate for 10 years. “It appears the momentum is in place to get this passed and signed by the president.”
In Alabama, I-14 would from the Georgia-Alabama border to Phenix City to Montgomery through Selma to Demopolis and the Mississippi border. The highway would contain a spur linking it to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery.
Cruz said the proposed highway has support from the Alabama Department of Transportation and similar agencies in other states where I-14 would run through.
ALDOT could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read the full article here.
New Interstate Connecting Columbus, Macon one step closer to reality with this bill
Senator Raphael Warnock, (D-GA), at Robins Air Force Base June 2, 2021. Warnock proposed an amendment to Congress’ new infrastructure bill to designate a future Interstate 14 corridor through Georgia.
Read more here: https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/state/georgia/article253253493.html#storylink=cpy
Interstate-14 advocates meet in Natchez
Click here to read an article written by the Natchez Democrat on the Interstate-14 convention and meeting held in Natchez, Mississippi where Transportation advocates from three states gathered to discuss progress on plans for a future interstate that would stretch across Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Interstate 14 proposal makes its way to Milledgeville
I-14 Offers Hope and Opportunity
Columbus And The Valley wrote an article explaining YIC and our purpose. Read the article here.
Group pushing for new interstate across Georgia - and Texas
11Alive wrote an article on the impact I-14 could have on Atlanta. The biggest impact on Atlanta could be what the proposed highway takes away, the semi-trucks it takes off the already-congested Interstates running through the city.
Read the article here.
Does Georgia need another interstate highway?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote an article on I-14 gaining initial support in the General Assembly this week. The Senate Transportation Committee passed Senate Resolution 44, which supports the creation of Interstate 14 across middle Georgia and urges the state’s Congressional delegation to do likewise.
Read the article here.
Columbus has a wish list for this year’s state Legislature
Start with a big thing: Columbus’ government wants an interstate highway on the route where U.S. 80 is now, in the name of economic development. What’s called Interstate 14 starts in Texas and is a federal project. There’s little the state Legislature can do to make it happen, but the request is that state legislators support the idea where they can.
Read the article here.
Proposed Interstate 14 looks to link Augusta to Texas, important military bases
The Augusta Chronicle interviews YIC President, Frank Lumpkin, discussing I-14 and its impact in the Augusta region in light of the Commissioner’s Resolution passing. Read about it here.
