Governor Sonny Perdue and Southeast Georgia officials dedicated two projects seen as vital to the regional economy on Wednesday.

The first project is on a road. With the dedication in Appling County, the Brunswick-to-Perry Golden Isles Parkway links the port of Brunswick to Middle Georgia with a continuous four-lane highway.

The second project is on rails. In Wayne County, the Brunswick-to-Macon Norfolk Southern railway can handle three times as many trains. Phil Overton led the six-county effort to improve the railway.

"Right now, a train leaving Macon going to the port in Brunswick and an empty train leaving Brunswick going back, one of them would have to wait as much as two to three hours for the other one to make the run," says Overton.

Now trains can pull to a siding to wait for a passing train.

Overton says both projects will make Georgia more attractive to business. The highway widening completion, however, is three years overdue. In 2006 the state declared one of the road's contractors in default.

Tags: economic development, ports, governor, Sonny Perdue, Appling County, Brunswick, Perry, Macon, Wayne County, Phil Overton, railroads, highways, Port of Brunswick