In May 2005, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue pushed the accelerator on six I-95 projects, representing some $351 million in investment, that were part of his $15.57-billion "Fast Forward" program launched in April 2004. When those are complete by the summer of 2009, the entire length of the I-95 corridor in Georgia will feature six lanes, three in each direction.
      "This Interstate is a vital corridor for companies transporting goods, commuters driving to work and families traveling on vacation," he said, effectively hitting on his economic development department's dual mission of industrial and tourism development. "The Fast Forward program allows Georgia to do in six years what would otherwise take 18 years to complete."
      But I-75 and I-16 are proving to be just as important to industrial location, as Macon distribution center projects from Kohl's and Bass Pro Shops can attest. The Bass Pro project, like those of rival Cabela's, combines retail and distribution operations into one huge complex, which in this case will occupy some 625,000 sq. ft. (58,063 sq. m.) and employ 400. Kohl's is building a 550,000-sq.-ft. (51,095-sq.-m.) facility on 80 acres (32 hectares) given to the company by the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority and the Bibb County Commission, in addition to tax abatements.
      While development along I-16 — the highway to Savannah and the coast — has been slow over the years, the connection to the growing Port of Savannah is acquiring more and more allure, even some 2.5 hours away in Macon.
      The I-85 corridor retains its own power, however, most recently in the choice by household cleaning and specialty food product company Reckitt Benckiser to locate a 400,000-sq.-ft. (37,160-sq.-m.), 100-employee logistics center in Jefferson, Georgia, some 40 minutes northeast of Atlanta in growing Jackson County. The town was also recently the recipient of a $65-million investment from loader and backhoe manufacturer Kubota, which is filling the same amount of space with the same number of employees. And food processing additive company WTI invested $3 million in a 40,000-sq.-ft. (3,716-sq.-m.), 20-employee manufacturing plant there in 2004.
      Reckitt Benckiser Inc., a subsidiary of U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser plc, manufactures, markets and sells products ranging from cleaners and disinfectants to detergents and condiments.
      Another British firm is setting up shop in Atlanta, and giving full credit to the city's airport connections with the home country as well as Charleston port connections for its goods. Freestanding-tub maker Victoria & Albert Group is establishing its U.S. headquarters in the city under the name Victoria & Albert Bath LLC.
      Another foreign corporation, this time based in Santiago, Chile, is moving its HQ from Charleston to Atlanta, although it's maintaining its manufacturing facility, distribution center and operations center in the South Carolina city. Terranova Forest Products, a manufacturer of value-added wood products for the building industry, lauded the city's climate, business focus and affordability, but the key factor may have once again been movement.
      "Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport provides Terranova with excellent access to our customers in North America, our world headquarters in Santiago, Chile, and our operations throughout Latin America," said Terranova CEO George MacConnell in April.