Area Transportation

Overview

Located in Southwest Georgia, Sumter County shares the advantages of the state's most strategic position. Georgia is not only the hub of the southeast region, but it is actually closer to major national markets than many other Eastern seaboard states.  Americus and Sumter County are hundreds of miles farther west than any city on the Eastern seaboard - and even further west than Detroit, Michigan. Americus is closer to the Chicago market than are New York, Baltimore or Philadelphia. It is more than 800 miles closer to Dallas than is Boston. More than 80 percent of the U.S. industrial market is within two trucking days from Sumter County. Americus is just 30 miles from Interstate 75 and about 60 miles from Interstate I85. Four-lane U.S. Highways 19 and 280 intersect in Americus, providing easy access to the major cities of the Southeast.

 

Truck Services

Eight intrastate and 22 interstate motor freight carriers provide full-load trucking services to this area. Seven of these maintain local terminals. Cities such as Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tampa, and Raleigh can be reached overnight by truck from Americus and Sumter County. More than 80 percent of the U.S. industrial market is within two truckload delivery days from here. Sumter County has full access to the trucking capabilities available throughout Georgia, which includes 83 class-A scheduled motor carriers and 2,200 other carriers. Specialized commodity carriers such as refrigerated, gasoline, chemicals and contract haulers are available.

 

Water Transport

Sumter County is about 60 miles from Columbus, one of Georgia's two inland ports. The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River system connects Columbus and Bainbridge, the other inland port, with the Gulf of Mexico. This river system, with three locks and two state operated barge terminals, is open year-round. It extends cost effective barge service to shippers of grain, minerals, bulk liquid and heavy equipment.

The deep-water port of Savannah, about 200 miles from Americus, is one of the nations' top ten general cargo ports, with 62 berths, and offers a 23-acre foreign trade zone. The port of Brunswick, Georgia has five general cargo berths and also offers and foreign trade zone.

 

Airports

The Americus Sumter County Airport Authority operates Souther Field, a general public aviation airport three miles northeast of Americus. The airport has two runways, 6000 feet and 3790 feet long. One fixed base operator, Souther Field Aviation, offers fuel, aircraft tie-down, hangar, repair services, flight instruction and aircraft rentals. Souther Field also has AWOS - and all weather frequency channel for pilots to determine weather conditions and landing capability. A courtesy car is available and charter air-service with Americus pick-up is available from Albany, which provides a 45 minutes flight time to Atlanta.

 

The Southwest Georgia Regional Airport in Albany, 35 miles south of Americus, provides daily commercial passenger service to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA.  Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the Delta Connection, has four arrivals and  four departures each day. 

 

 The Columbus, GA  Airport, 60 miles west of Americus provides daily commercial flights  to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, GA.  Atlantic Southeast Airlines, the Delta Connection, has five arrivals and five departures daily.

 

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, on the south side of Atlanta and about 130 miles from Americus, is the world's second busiest passenger airport. Hartsfield-Jackson averages nearly 50 million passengers a year and offers more daily scheduled flights than any other airport in the world. Driving time from Americus via I-75 is about two hours.

 

Airfreight Service

Cargo flights are available at both the Albany and Columbus airports as well as Atlanta. Federal Express Company provides regular air parcel service with nationwide 24 hour delivery. Several other airlines and cargo companies also offer freight service. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta handles for than 364,000 metric tons of cargo a year. A dozen all-freight carriers are supported by two of the world's largest cargo buildings.

 

Rail Services

Rail freight service is available through two railroads, the Heart of Georgia Railroad, and the Norfolk Southern.

 

The Norfolk Southern mainline runs along the west boundary of the Ted Baldwin Business and Technology Park.

 

The Heart of Georgia is a short-line railway that interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Piggyback service is available in Atlanta and Cordele (35 miles away) and rail lines are prepared to offer piggyback service if demand warrants.

 

Estimated shipping time by rail from here to Miami and/or Chicago is only four days. Sumter County's railways are part of Georgia's 5,200 miles rail system, the most extensive in the Southeast.