Jordan Johnson | Augusta Chronicle
Jordan Johnson serves as Augusta-Richmond County Commissioner for District 1.
As a Richmond County Commissioner, I hear from constituents all the time about how many repairs are desperately needed on our roads, bridges and highways. Those calls grow louder around the holidays when Georgians hope to safely travel home to loved ones.
In my district alone, there are many substandard roads, and Augusta as a whole has at least four structurally deficient bridges that are in dire need of work. Across the state, there are hundreds and hundreds more—374 bridges, to be exact—that desperately need fixing. These transit issues are serious and persistent, and we can’t wait any longer to address them.
More on bridges: Federal infrastructure deal to provide $225 million for repairing bridges across Georgia
Thankfully, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law last month, made possible by Georgia’s Democratic members of Congress and Senators Reverend Warnock and Ossoff, which will devote billions of dollars to fixing our state’s roads, bridges, and highways before it’s too late—all while creating a generation of good-paying jobs for Georgians. The results of this bill will be “as tangible as blacktop and concrete under your tires, with $225 million of it going to repairing bridges across Georgia.” That includes $25 million in transportation dollars for Augusta-Richmond County alone. And it won’t raise taxes a single penny for middle-class families.
This infrastructure law won’t just fix what’s broken—it’ll expand what’s possible for our state. For more than a decade, Georgians have been talking about the I-14 corridor, an interstate highway running right through Georgia, linking critical military installations and rural communities all across the South, including Fort Gordon. Now, thanks to a bipartisan effort by Democratic Senator Reverend Warnock of Georgia with Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, that project is finally going to become a reality.
That’s right—the Democratic Senator from Georgia is working with the Republican Senator from Texas, putting their partisanship aside for the good of our communities. Senator Reverend Warnock’s bipartisan approach to legislation is an example of the importance of putting people over politics and should serve as an example to all currently in office or who aspire to office.
Point: Why we’re Republicans who support the infrastructure bill and budget reconciliation
When it comes to politics, we won’t always see eye to eye. But if you can’t agree that Georgians deserve good roads, structurally-sound bridges, clean water, affordable internet, and stable energy grids, then you shouldn’t be representing us. If Senator Reverend Warnock and others were not in office, this bill—and all its benefits for the people of Georgia—would not be possible.
The bottom line: President Biden, Senators Reverend Warnock and Ossoff and Georgia Democrats delivered this investment in Georgia’s infrastructure—with bipartisan support from 34 Republicans who are not from our state. Let’s remember that in Georgia, and demand that those currently in office not put partisan games ahead of what’s good for Georgians. We can build a better road forward together, red and blue, but only with good-faith partners in Georgia who are willing to work across the aisle.
