Md. company to start ‘privatized maintenance’ on I-95 in Ga.

ATLANTA — A Maryland company on Friday will begin privatized maintenance of Interstate 95 in Georgia as part of a three-year “demonstration program,” transportation officials said.

Roy Jorgensen Associates Inc. won a $6.8 million contract that includes an option for a three-year renewal, pending Georgia Department of Transportation approval.

The state recently spent $1 billion to widen the major thoroughfare — which sees up to 300,000 vehicles each day. The 113-mile stretch of the interstate in Georgia is not only used by travelers heading north and south along the coast, it is vital for the state’s port facilities in Brunswick and Savannah.

“This is an important project,” DOT Commissioner Vance C. Smith Jr. said in a news release. “The General Assembly and the State Transportation Board have encouraged us to find an appropriate section of roadway to conduct this type of privatization test. I-95 is a perfect location and we think there is a great opportunity here to save money; free our own employees for other critical work; and still keep a high standard of highway maintenance.”