ATLANTA – At the leading of State Representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine), with the support of State Representatives Jeff Jones (R-Brunswick) and Don Hogan (R-St. Simon’s Island), the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will begin an interstate beautification plan on Interstates 95 and 16 in Camden County after thousands of trees were removed along I-95 causing tremendous noise for residents.
“This effort comes after an overwhelming outcry and demand from the public for more answers as to why the state transportation department would execute such an unsightly, massive and ill-informed project without any public input from the tax payers or local officials and how it would affect residents,” said Rep. Spencer. “GDOT has finally given us a timeline that informs the community of when the beautification activities begin,” said Rep. Spencer. “Even though it is after the fact and the majority of the damage has been done, I am thankful they will now be meeting local officials, as they should, to review and receive input on the next phase of project and get a consensus going forward. People are not happy and rightfully so. The beautification phase, however, does not solve the increased noise problems that residents along the interstate now have to deal with. The noise must be addressed.”
“Thanks to Representative Spencer for organizing the recent meeting with GDOT,” said Rep. Jones. “However, the entire process and the reasoning we were given for the clear-cutting of all the beautiful trees on IH95, IH16 and on other state roads in Georgia is troubling to me on its face. It seems that we are spending taxpayer money for a project of questionable value. Now, we must spend additional taxpayer money to ‘beautify’ these clear-cut areas. If asked, I suspect our taxpayers would vote no on the entire effort. Just because GDOT has the money to spend doesn’t mean they should. All we ask is for GDOT to keep local citizens and elected officials informed before they undertake such a sweeping and, in my opinion, questionable project, and to spend taxpayer money in a prudent manner.”
Meetings will be scheduled with Camden County and the cities of Kingsland, St. Mary’s and Woodbine to discuss beautification projects with local officials. The GDOT landscape architect will work with Camden County to determine the variety of trees to be planted, and ensure that grass and pollinator gardens are planted during the appropriate growing seasons. Proposed planting locations include Exit 1 on I-95 and wide median sections of I-16.
*Editor’s note: Documents with details on the beautification project have been attached to this press release for your convenience.
Interstate Vegetation Management Program Schedule I-95, Exit 1 Beautification
Representative Jason Spencer represents the citizens of District 180, which includes Camden, Charlton and Ware counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and currently serves as Secretary of the Special Rules Committee. He also serves on the Game, Fish & Parks, Human Relations & Aging, Juvenile Justice and Science and Technology committees.
Representative Jeff Jones represents the citizens of District 167, which includes portions of Glynn, Long and McIntosh counties. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2014 and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Motor Vehicles Committee. He also serves on the Insurance, Interstate Cooperation and Science and Technology committees.
Representative Don Hogan represents the citizens of District 179, which includes portions of Glynn County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and currently serves on the Economic Development & Tourism Information and Audits and Natural Resources & Environment committees.
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