Georgia’s Appalachian Regional Port—A Partnership for Prosperity
Recently, the Georgia Ports Authority announced that the Appalachian Regional Port (ARP) in rural Murray County (GA) set a record in November 2025 with seven trains per week carrying nearly 4,000 containers—a 35% increase from November 2024.
The rail line serving the ARP connects the Port of Savannah, Georgia, the fastest-growing port on the East Coast and the nation’s fourth-busiest seaport, to Northwest Georgia, Northeast Alabama, and the Greater Chattanooga/Southeastern Tennessee area. Interstate 75 is the main artery connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga, 118 miles to the north.
The Appalachian Regional Commission has been a partner in creating and growing this major economic engine throughout the process, providing funding and initial credibility to the proposal.
In 2015, the Appalachian Regional Commission invested $300,000, and Murray County contributed $400,000 to purchase the 46-acre site. CSX Railroad contributed $7.8 million in private investment.
In 2016, ARC contributed $120,000 with a local match of $30,000 to prepare the Murray County Site Development Master Plan. The purpose of the grant was to “prepare an infrastructure master plan, including broadband and telecommunications, for future development around the Appalachian Regional Inland Port located in Murray County.”
In 2017, the $6.4 million City of Chatsworth/Chatsworth Sewerage System Improvements Project received $600,000 in ARC funding to “construct sewerage system improvements to serve northern Murray County, including the Appalachian Inland Port and surrounding industrial area.”
In 2018, ARC invested another $600k in the Murray County/Murray County South Industrial Park SSI to extend sewer service to the Murray South Industrial Park, enabling future development. The local match was $1.138 million, and a private company invested $6 million in a facility that created 58 jobs.
Most recently, ARC matched Murray County’s investment of $572,582 to develop more acreage in the South Industrial Park. It will construct a drive and extend water lines into the 349-acre Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site. Interest in the park is primarily driven by its proximity to the ARP.
These investments have created many jobs and expanded the tax base in Murray County and beyond. The ARP is in the 15-county Northwest Georgia economic development region, where the economic impact of the Port of Savannah supports 45,800 full- and part-time jobs. Between FYs 2023 and 2024, a University of Georgia study found that the ARP supported an increase of about 5,600 jobs in Northwest Georgia. According to the Murray County Chamber of Commerce, “We have welcomed General Electric (GE) Logistics Center and Huali Floors, enhancing job growth in the region. Foss Floors and Polytech Fibers, LLC, are expanding. We welcomed Galaxy Group, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based manufacturer, to the Murray South Industrial Park, where they are building a facility. Green Galaxy Group purchased 41 acres for its back-to-the-U.S. manufacturing facility to make synthetic surfacing.”
The ARP has many benefits:
- Each round-trip container moved via the ARP offsets 710 truck miles on Georgia highways, improving safety and quality of life in a region where more than 60% of its workforce commutes outside the area for gainful employment.
- It is within reach of 75% of the continental U.S. in two days or less.
- It serves as an economic generator not only for Murray County, but for the Northwest Georgia, Southeastern Tennessee, and the Top of Alabama LDDs.
- According to an economic impact study by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, port-supported employment across Northwest Georgia increased by 14 percent or more than 5,600 jobs between fiscal year 2023 and FY2024.
ARC’s endorsement and financial assistance in the development of the ARP and related projects will pay dividends for generations to come. It exemplifies transformational change produced by vision, leadership, and clear project goals. The Appalachian Regional Port is an excellent example of interstate cooperation that partners, innovates, and strengthens the region’s economy.
Boyd Austin, Executive Director
Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
baustin@nwgrc.gov