Building a strong logistics network

Connecting Georgia Ports to the nation

Superior road connections

Besides its proximity to Atlanta, the Port of Savannah enjoys superior connections via road and rail. Interstates 95 and 16 converge at a point approximately five miles from the port. No other port on the U.S. East Coast offers such direct interstate connections. What’s more, because the riverside port is actually located west of the city of Savannah, trucks are not encumbered by city traffic.

Georgia is building a cargo beltway around the port, and a stronger logistics network across the state.

To ensure road fluidity, the state of Georgia is building a cargo beltway. As part of a major initiative to improve and expand surface transportation across Georgia, the state opened the Jimmy Deloach Connector in 2016, providing direct truck access between the Port of Savannah and I-95. The connector carries 5,000 trucks per day and cuts 11 minutes from the drive time between the port and the interstate.

Within the next five years, Georgia’s freight mobility plan will have delivered the Brampton Road Connector, linking Garden City Terminal to I-516, and will have extended the Jimmy Deloach Parkway again, this time from I-95 to I-16. This will form a complete cargo beltway for motor carriers between the port and the interstate network.

The terminal infrastructure improvements are part of GPA’s investment philosophy of maintaining capacity at least 20 percent above current demand. Additional rail infrastructure, yard space, and truck gates, as well as more container handling cranes and ship-to-shore cranes, will help Savannah maintain high levels of service without congestion, even as it increases business and market share. Recent improvements include:

  • 2012: Georgia completes $22.5 million overpass at Highway 307, leading to the main gate of Garden City Terminal.
    • Overpass allows the unimpeded flow of truck and rail
  • 2015: Georgia General Assembly passes Transportation Funding Act
    • Will generate $10 billion in new transportation funding over 10 years
    • Supports projects that create dedicated motor carrier lanes, alleviate traffic and improve safety.
  • 2016: State opens the $121 million Jimmy Deloach Connector
    • Provides direct truck access between the Port of Savannah and Interstate 95.
    • Cuts 11 minutes from the drive time between the port and the interstate.
  • 2017: Georgia Department of Transportation is expanding Grange Road.
    • The $12 million project will provide safe, fluid access between the Jimmy Deloach Connector and the new Gate 8 onto Garden City Terminal.

Within five years, Georgia’s freight mobility plan will have delivered the Brampton Road Connector, linking Garden City Terminal to I-516, and have extended the Jimmy Deloach Parkway from I-95 to I-16. This will form a complete cargo beltway for motor carriers between the port and the interstate system.