With infrastructure upgrades on the horizon in Georgia, suppliers face obstacles to keep up
A quarry in Norcross measuring more than 600 feet deep provides construction material for projects in Georgia and beyond.
Emil Moffatt/WABE News
Georgia is set to receive more than $9 billion in federal money to upgrade the state’s highways and bridges. Another $1.5 billion is slated to be spent on public transportation in the state.
At the same time, elected leaders and transportation officials are keeping a close eye on labor and material shortages as they map out future projects.
One company that will likely be a major player in infrastructure projects is Vulcan Materials Company, which has several facilities in Georgia, including a large rock quarry in Norcross. The company’s vice president Jimmy Fleming says being close to major road construction projects — like the one at Georgia 400 and I-285, helps them deal with a shortage of truck drivers.
“Having a local source of material is important because transportation is a huge part of the cost of the material,” said Fleming.
Vulcan — which has hundreds of facilities across the country — supplies crushed stone, gravel, sand, concrete and asphalt for highway and road construction projects. It stands to benefit from the boost in federal infrastructure spending set for the coming years.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to supply what is needed by this new infrastructure bill,” Fleming added.
Local transportation officials echo that optimism, pointing to current construction projects, which they say haven’t been affected by shortages.
“On the labor and material shortage side, we’ve all faced that, especially over the last year,” said Lewis Cooksey, head of Gwinnett’s Department of Transportation. “Here in Gwinnett, we’ve opened up 17 projects just this year to traffic and for our public to use in the middle of a shortage of materials and labor.”
Labor shortages aren’t just a Georgia issue — they affect companies nationwide. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux says there are several million people who haven’t been able to rejoin the workforce after leaving during the pandemic.
“It’s going to take us a little while, we’ll have to work through some of these glitches in the system,” said Bourdeaux, who represents Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. “But we’re just going to take it down, systematically one step at a time. I’m confident we’re going to see some great projects going forward.”
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