Georgia Ports Celebrates Truck Drivers
Terminal efficiency at the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal enables truck drivers to complete more transactions per day compared to West Coast port terminals.
SAVANNAH, Ga., Sept. 18, 2024 – The Georgia Ports Authority is celebrating its front-line customers in the motor carrier industry during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
“Our partners in the trucking industry are a critical link between our global vessel services and the domestic supply chain,” said GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch. “At Georgia Ports, every week is trucker appreciation week.”
To acknowledge drivers’ contributions, GPA employees will hand out safety gloves, bottles of water and chicken sandwiches at the terminal truck gates Thursday.
Lynch said GPA works daily to ensure a positive trucker experience, noting that gate and yard efficiency at the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal help drivers complete more container moves each day.
It takes only 8 minutes, 12 seconds on average for a driver entering the terminal to go from the biometric reading station, complete the check-in process and depart the gate canopy. The Port of Savannah achieved total truck turn times across July and August of only 34 minutes for a single-container move and 54 minutes for truckers delivering an export and picking up an import container.
Approximately 80 percent of truck transactions at the Port of Savannah involve such double moves, compared to only 30 percent at major West Coast ports.
“Savannah’s ability to quickly handle these dual transactions reduces the number of truck trips required to move the same cargo, avoids diesel emissions and allows drivers to be more profitable by handling more containers per day,” Lynch said. “Drivers in Savannah can make up to eight truck turns per day, compared to two per day at Southern California terminals.”
Garden City Terminal averages approximately 14,000 truck moves each weekday, or around 7,000 trucks in, 7,000 trucks out, according to the most recent figures from the Georgia Ports Authority.
Lynch said truck turn times at the Port of Savannah are among the fastest of any major port.
“Our 1,500-acre single-terminal model in Savannah means drivers do not have to go through multiple gate transactions when handling cargo from two different shipping lines,” Lynch said.
Georgia is investing both on- and off-terminal to accommodate the free flow of cargo.
“Whether it’s across the terminal or across the state, Georgia Ports provides the infrastructure and customer service necessary to ensure freight moves safely and without congestion,” said GPA Board Chairman Kent Fountain. “The Peach State understands the importance of a reliable logistics network.”
Transportation Investments
With more than $4.2 billion in infrastructure projects planned in port infrastructure over the next decade, Georgia Ports is investing in projects to enhance berth space, yard capacity, truck gate fluidity and intermodal connectivity.
Additionally, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp included a $1.5 billion investment in transportation infrastructure around the state in the Amended Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
This funding will advance an array of transportation projects – more than doubling the state’s funding to cities and counties for local transportation infrastructure, resurface more state highways, accelerate the completion of key transportation projects already under way, and kickstart new strategic projects.
A third of the additional infrastructure spending, $500 million, will fund a new program that includes 18 projects devoted to freight-carrying infrastructure. The projects are aimed at improving the efficiency, safety and reliability of transporting goods across Georgia.
Two current projects in the Savannah area include the Brampton Road Connector and improvements to the intersection of Interstate 16 and Interstate 95.
The Brampton Road Connector will provide a direct link between Garden City Terminal’s gates and the interstate system. It includes a four-lane highway and state route spur to connect the Port of Savannah’s Gate 2 to SR 25, SR 21 and US 80. Completion is expected in May 2026.
The 16@95 Improvement Projects will improve traffic flow and enhance safety along I-16 and I-95. GDOT is reconstructing the interchange at I-16 and I-95 in Chatham County to increase operational efficiency and safety. GDOT is also widening I-16 to relieve traffic congestion. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2025.