GOG - Major Transportation Systems (Lesson)

Major Transportation Systems

Introduction

If you are going on a road through Georgia, you have noticed that we are lucky enough to have four of the nation’s most important interstate highways to choose from, I-95, I-75, I-85 and I-20. These four major interstates, along with the others in our state, help connect people and goods across the region. Atlanta is home to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This key location in Georgia is one of the busiest airports in the nation, handling over 54,000 metric tons of cargo in an average month. Atlanta’s location allows quick access to unload air cargo and quickly get it on the road through the interstate highway system. Georgia’s key deep water ports of Brunswick and Savannah handle cargo that is then transferred from ship to highway. The relationship between air, road and sea transportation allows Georgia to provide the nation with valuable resources imported and also allows quick access for exporting goods produced in the United States.

Photograph of the I-85 intersection known as Spaghetti Junction 

 

Types of Transportation Systems

Deep Water and Inland Ports

Georgia has two deep water ports-Savannah and Brunswick. Georgia has two inland barge terminals - Bainbridge and Photograph of Savannah Harbor Columbus.

  • Savannah is one of the most important container ports in the United States and is the 5th largest container port in the nation.
  • Brunswick’s port is focused on auto shipping, heavy equipment, agricultural products, large tour buses and farm equipment.

Inland ports like Bainbridge and Columbus provide inexpensive transportation, mostly for agricultural and industrial goods to and from the Gulf of Mexico and to many markets in the Southeastern United States.

The ports in Georgia account for $1.8B in annual income for the state and provide over 81,000 jobs for Georgians. The state and local tax revenue is $585 million annually.

Ninety steamship lines serve the state and Georgia leads the Southeast region for foreign cargo.

Additionally, goods shipped to Georgia from foreign nations are more more than 2 days truck drive from 82% of the United States and from 79% of the nation’s largest consumer markets.

There are 25,000 truckers in the state!

 

Rivers

The Chattahoochee River is 436 miles from the mountains of North Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico. The Savannah River is the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The main functions of the rivers in Georgia are--

  • 1.providing drinking water
  • 2.sourcing hydroelectric power
  • 3.transportation.

These inland “highways” are used for recreation, sources of food and water resources.

 

Interstate highway system

The interstate system links our transportation system. I-95, I-75, I-85 and I-20 are key interstate highways that connect all regions of Georgia for leisure and commercial traffic.

 

Railroads

There are two major rail lines that serve Georgia: CSX and Norfolk Southern. The first railroad tracks were laid in the mid-1830s and connected Athens, Augusta, Savannah and Macon. By 1860 Georgia boasted more rail lines than any state in the Deep South and also linked major towns with Atlanta, a new rail hub. Rail lines in the state continued to grow after the Civil War til the 1920s. Then railroads were in decline from the Depression in the 1930s through the 1990s.Even today though, Georgia has 5,000 miles of railroad lines.

Amtrak is the passenger line that runs through Georgia via Atlanta’s Brookwood Station. Amtrak trains travel through Atlanta on the way from New York City to New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

This major airport not only allows easy transportation of people, but also allows various corporations to move a large amount of cargo both domestically and internationally every day.

In 1926 the first mail service to Candler Field began and then in 1929 Delta Airlines began passenger service from Atlanta to Dallas, Texas. In 1930 Eastern Airlines began flying out of Atlanta.

The City of Atlanta bought Candler Field and built hangars and extended the runways in 1929 and today Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest airport in the world. The airport is named for two outstanding former mayors of Atlanta, William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson. The airport includes a main terminal and 6 concourses with almost 200 gates.

On an average weekday afternoon the airport has 500 incoming flights and 500 outgoing flights. There are 80,000 flights annually carrying over 7 million passengers on 21 airlines.

Finally, airplanes from Atlanta transport 53,700 metric tons of cargo and 60,000 metric tons of mail on cargo planes operated by 20 companies.

Photograph of the E Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport 

 

Transportation Discussion Assignment Article

Download and read the article which you will use to respond for your Transportation Systems Discussion assignment. Select to download the Georgia's Strengths in Transportation article. Links to an external site.

 

Review

Test Yourself icon Review what you've learned by completing the activity below.

After you've finished reading the handout from the explore page, list 8 new facts you've learned - 2 for each transportation type discussed:

  • Highways
  • Airports
  • Railroads
  • Ports

 

 

 

Think About This

 

 

Georgia’s unique transportation system allows us to be a prime market for shipping of goods. Be sure to review the article “Georgia’s Strengths in Transportation” to receive a key picture on how vital our transportation system is to the State’s success. You can access it from the link above. (Find it under the header: Transportation Discussion Assignment Article)

  PHOTOGRAPH OF HARTSFIELD-JACKSON AIRPORT COURTESY OF THE AIRPORT

ALL OTHER IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN