The bottom line: Nope.
ME: The I-16 / I-75 interchange... I'm trying to gauge - have any of those complaints made it up to the federal level, i.e., do you have people calling your office complaining about that thing?
ISAKSON: Not to my knowledge.
ME: Is it something you foresee getting involved in?
ISAKSON: Tell me what the complaint is.
ME: They say it's too big. They're going from 4 lanes to 14. ...
ISAKSON: Well, most, not most - all federal highway expansions are planned with the idea of the future in mind and based on the statistical traffic that's coming through. I am not an engineer. I've not seen the design, so I can't opine whether it's right or wrong. But I can say, they don't go try and build over capacity unless they know the statistics show the demand's gonna be there. ... But I will, since you asked, try and become familiar with it. And I'm on — I'm the ranking member — of the subcommittee on highways. ... What I will do when I get back is I will look into it.
Sen. Chambliss told me something very similar earlier in the day, but I dropped the recorder and it didn't record.
It's just more proof that this groundswell to stop the project really isn't that large, or else organizers simply haven't talked to the right people.
UPDATE: Though you also have to wonder how much attention Sen. Isakson is paying to one of the largest proposed construction projects in the state, to not know there are complaints about its size.
2 comments:
Travis, you are correct, we have not spoken to the right people. Our past focus has been through the GDOT channels (meetings, etc). With the large organized push started last week we hope to change that.
I went to a Chamber meeting last night, and frankly the plan makes sense to me. I also went ahead and did the research about other proposed plans and this one seems to be a winner to me.
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