Three open houses have been scheduled for next week as the Georgia Department of Transportation gathers public comment on the proposed extension of a high speed rail corridor that would extend from Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina.
The three proposed routes would all impact North Georgia in some way. One of the routes follows the Norfolk Southern/Amtrak line that passes through Gainesville; another follows the I-85 corridor through several North Georgia counties; the third through Athens and parts of eastern Georgia.
A statement from GDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said the purpose of the Atlanta to Charlotte rail expansion is to "improve intercity passenger travel between Atlanta and Charlotte by expanding the region’s transportation system capacity and improving trip time and reliability through high-speed passenger rail services." In addition, the corridor is a part of the transportation system that will connect Washington DC, Richmond Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Public comment on the expansion will be taken online via this link until Nov. 4, 2019.
Interested persons may also attend any of three public meetings. Details are listed below:
Public Open Houses
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Location: Georgia Department of Transportation
600 W. Peachtree St. NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Time: 5:30 – 8 pm
Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Location: Greenville County Square
301 University Ridge, Suite 400
Greenville, SC 29601
Time: 5:30 – 8 pm
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2019
Location: Metrolina Transportation Management Center
2327 Tipton Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28206
Time: 5:30 – 8 pm
Georgia DOT officials said they will base the preferred alternative decision on feedback and comments from the public and agencies, performance of each corridor alternative and the potential environmental impacts of each corridor alternative.
