It is a long way from reaching Augusta but proponents of the proposed Interstate 14 are hoping endorsements like the one from the Augusta Commission and possibly the Georgia General Assembly will boost its prospects in the state and across the country to Texas.

Proponents see it as a gateway from Augusta to Texas and linking up important military bases and ports along the way. Interstate 14 is a long way from reaching the city but advocates are hoping a boost from the Augusta Commission, the Georgia General Assembly and Congress will at least start it down the road.

The commission passed a resolution without discussion endorsing the idea of Interstate 14, which would in theory link Augusta at one end across the middle of the state on the Fall Line Freeway to Macon and Columbus and then across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and end in Killeen, Texas. A 25-mile stretch has already been built from Killeen to Belton, Texas, and a much larger section more than 200 miles long is under construction from Belton to Woodville, Texas, said Frank Lumpkin, president of the Youth Infrastructure Coalition, who is championing the route in Georgia.

A bill that had been introduced in the previous Congress would have expanded Interstate 14 across central Texas and Louisiana into central Mississippi and along some existing roadways that would be included in it to allow the states to erect signs touting that it is the future route of Interstate 14. Lumpkin said he expects that bill to be reintroduced in the new Congress that just reconvened and is working to get Georgia and Alabama added to it. The route would connect with major military bases all across the region and open up sections of those states for economic development, supporters have argued.

"A lot has happened in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi while Georgia and Alabama really haven’t done anything," he said. Getting the route designated as part of the National Highway System is the first step, Lumpkin said.

"We’re aware that it will take years but really what we’re pushing for right now is designation because before you can even have a chance at any federal funding or state funding, you have to have the road designated," he said. Having Augusta signal its support, along with other Georgia communities along the proposed route, is important, Lumpkin said.

"It has to start from the bottom," he said. "The local communities need to want it."

Commissioner Brandon Garrett, who inherited the issue from predecessor Wayne Guilfoyle, said he knew the commission was meeting this week with the Augusta legislative delegation and wanted them to know the city supported the effort. Traveling across that section of Georgia now from Augusta to Macon is cumbersome, he said.

"I just think having a direct route would be beneficial for Augusta," Garrett said.

Members of the Augusta delegation also seem to be on board.

Sen. Jesse Stone, R-Waynesboro, said it is an idea that has been around for a while and linking it up or along the existing Fall Line Freeway from Augusta to Macon and Columbus makes sense.

"We would certainly be in favor of extending it," he said. The route "would make a lot of business and economic sense," said Rep. Sheila Clark Nelson, D-Augusta. "It would be a win-win for Georgia."

That bodes well for a resolution of support for Interstate 14 that the Columbus delegation is going to introduce in the Georgia General Assembly this session, Lumpkin said.

"That vote is important because that shows the Georgia Department of Transportation and our federal lawmakers that Interstate 14 is a priority," he said.

But, using an existing roadway like the Fall Line Freeway to create an interstate would present a number of major challenges. One of those is the fact that it was not built to full interstate standards, such as allowing limited access points, said Kyle Collins, spokesman for District 2 of the Georgia Department of Transportation that covers Augusta. In Jefferson County, for instance, people have driveways that directly link to the highway.

"The access would have to be restricted further in addition to rebuilding some of the main intersections," Collins said. "It would take a huge federal and state effort, funding commitment, long-range planning, outreach. It would be decades and decades to get something like this done."

The department has its own long-range priorities, such as the Governor's Road Improvement Program first approved in 1989 that seeks to put 98 percent of the state's population within 20 miles of a four-lane road. Fall Line Freeway and the Savannah River Parkway that connects Augusta and Savannah, both now complete, were part of that.

Lumpkin said he knows it could be years before it is completed or even funded but it is important to start now on Interstate 14.

"The designation needs to happen first," he said "That’s why it is so important that Augusta passed that resolution."