Developments in and around the future Hyundai plant continue to progress.
Bryan County announced water and sewer upgrades to include a $37.1 million loan that will help fund infrastructure at the mega site.
“The plan, in conjunction with the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority, is to pull water from strategically located wells to create a pipeline to the mega-site, while also providing services to select other sites along the way,” said Carter Infinger, chairman for the Bryan County Board of Commissioners.
“The sewer infrastructure is also planned for installation along key sites that have the most efficient impact. These projects are done with the assistance of the three other members of the JDA - Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham Counties.”
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Motorists can see the beginning phase underway on I-16 going into Savannah as blue pipes are lined up along the interstate. Infinger emphasized the project will have little-to-no impact on taxpayers within the county.
“Ultimately, the goal is to minimize the dollars Bryan County taxpayers spend on this water and sewer infrastructure,” said Infinger. “You can’t ask for a better interest rate than that. We don’t have to start paying it back for four years.”
He referred to the loan as “free money,” because future developments will contribute greatly in paying it off.
“It's really not going to cost our citizens any money or much money to have these upgrades done when everybody pays their impact fees,” said Infinger. “We do a traffic impact analysis to look and see how it impacts, so we get money from those folks. It will basically pay this loan off. It’s free money for the county to do infrastructure projects to improve the roads for citizens in the way they get around, as well as sewer infrastructure projects.”
The county is moving forward with road upgrades as well. On Dec. 1, a new signal light will be activated on Highway 280 at Oracal Parkway near Exit 143.
“The roadways to get to the site also need to be upgraded and we can do this with T-SPLOST funds and other funding mechanisms,” said Infinger.
“Plans are already in place to improve U.S. 280 from Wilma Edwards Road to U.S. 80. Wilma Edwards and Oracal Parkway are planned to see intersection improvements at the beginning of 2023. Bryan County is working with GDOT on the I-16 intersection and the U.S. 80 intersection, which could see roundabout improvements as soon as 2024. The future for Bryan County is very bright right now and I am incredibly happy to see the fruits of our labor.”
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bryan County accepts $37.1 million loan for water, sewer infrastructure ahead of Hyundai
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