Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurray is no stranger to success. In 2018, he was named Georgian of the Year by Georgia Trend Magazine and in 2023, he was awarded the Most Influential Georgian by the same magazine. In 2023, the Department was also ranked as the best Department of Transportation in the Country for its effectiveness and influence.
As a testament to his success, in 2024, Commissioner McMurray teamed with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to make recommendations to the Georgia Legislature to pass a historic $1.8-billion transportation and infrastructure investment in the state's 2024FY budget.
While businesses and individuals relocate to Georgia, this funding is imperative to protecting and expanding Georgia's transportation infrastructure. “This funding will ensure our already reliable infrastructure network can meet the needs of that incredible growth,” the Republican Kemp said in a statement.
In addition to approving the Governor and Commissioner’s historic budget recommendations, the Georgia Legislature was tasked with allocating these funds to specific projects. Accordingly, this historic transportation investment will be used to:
- Complete a backlog of road construction and expansion projects across the state
- Expand of the port of Savannah
- Construct a high-speed heavy rail line that will run between Atlanta and Savannah
- Construct another airport in Atlanta that will be focused on cargo
- Expand of I-16 that runs from the port of Savannah to the new Atlanta Airport
Investments in these projects will remediate traffic congestion across Metro-Atlanta while also maximizing Georgia’s international import and export capabilities by nearly 200% by supporting cargo transportation capabilities.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers commends Gov. Kemp, Commissioner McMurray, and the Georgia Legislature for taking a strong stance in favor of industry, and the association look forward to continuing to work with them to advance similar investments in the years to come.”
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