Monday, December 17, 2007

Chamber members learn of the impact a new proposed interstate could have in the area

The prospects of a new interstate highway, Interstate 14, coming to east Alabama was part of a wake-up call for a room full of chamber members and guests early Tuesday morning in Auburn.

April 11, 2007

The prospects of a new interstate highway, Interstate 14, coming to east Alabama was part of a wake-up call for a room full of chamber members and guests early Tuesday morning in Auburn.

Interstate 14 is the proposed designation for a new freeway corridor between Natchez, Miss., and Augusta, Ga., with additional proposals extending west to Austin, Texas and east to Myrtle Beach, S.C. In this area, I -14 would branch off of Interstate 85 near Tuskegee and follow U.S. 80 to Phenix City.

The wake-up call the came in form of information about the interstate and an extension of another, two new 11-story buildings and new poultry industry in Phenix City and the impact of growth in Atlanta as presented by Biff Hadden with Science Applications International Corp., SAIC, the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States.

Hadden said what is happening in this region impacts everyone differently.

“What is happening cannot be stopped. It is no longer about BRAC,“ Hadden said. “We are in the middle of change we don’t understand.

“Preparing for change is the key,“ he said.

Hadden said there are elements today that are dramatically different than the ones that he has focused on in years past.

“We know our population growth is accelerating, but what we are being overwhelmed with is the greater Atlanta metropolitan growth, he said. “If you don’t realize that, then it is time for a wake-up call.

He listed several over elements impacting this growth:

n migration of the retiree population up out of Florida,

n early stages of the Alabama’s I-85 technology corridor,

n potential interstates in the future, and

n a shift from horizontal construction mentality to a vertical construction mentality.

Hadden said he never thought he would see vertical construction in the Phenix City, Columbus, Ga., area.

“If you look at Phenix City today, the tallest structure is three stories. Within four to five months, they are breaking ground on two 11-story structures on the river.

“Two at one time, 11-stories. That takes you through two generations of construction overnight,“ he said. “That is not growth as usual.“

Hadden has been involved in planning 30 years in the Army, 12 years with the chamber of commerce and now with a defense contractor.

He said the community needs to be involved in all of the planning for this growth.

“We firmly believe that overall strategies have to developed if we are going to do it and do it right. Planning has to be tied to the community. Any planning that goes on has to involve town hall meetings, has to involve our input, if we are going to be part of determining what our community looks like in the future and what our quality of life is going to be.

“You can never assume that somebody else is going to look out for your interests,“ Hadden said. “You have got to get involved and do that for yourself.“

Hadden said it took him about 25 minutes to get to Auburn from Columbus.

“The folks that we are bringing in think nothing of a one-hour commute morning and evening,“ he said. “How will a 30-minute drive hit them. It is great.“

He said the three things soldiers look for when looking for a place to live include: security of the family, public education and where can I get the shopping, recreation and those quality of life amenities.

Hadden said the next map of the Greater Atlanta MSA will include Georgia’s Troup County which is across from Alabama’s Chambers and Lee counties. The Greater Atlanta MSA presently includes 28 counties.

“Troup County right now has three 1,000-acre subdivisions platted, zoned and under the leading edges of construction,“ he said. “It’s got more than five additional in early stages of planning.

“That is 8,000 acres in a community that has had stable, level growth and all of a sudden is being impacted by Atlanta specifically.

“What is right next to Troup County - Lee County. Where will Atlanta’s growth impact next - the edge of Lee County. If you go to the first Opelika exit as you come into Lee County, you will find several large subdivisions in the early stages of planning and development that are Atlanta-bound growth.

“There is nothing you can do about the Atlanta growth,“ he said.