by Riverduckexpress
While discussions on this corridor comes up often, I don't think anybody posted this anywhere; I just found it recently myself. Last September, Georgia DOT quietly released a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Charlotte-Atlanta segment of SEHSR. Tentatively stretching from Charlotte Gateway Station to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, GDOT has narrowed down their options to three alignments: The existing Norfolk Southern Piedmont Division line used by the Crescent (Southern Crescent), improved to trim travel times; a high-speed ROW running down I-85, and a brand-new high-speed 'greenfield' ROW. The public commenting period has long passed. Next, FRA and GDOT will prepare a Tier 1 Final EIS with the alignment they've chosen (hard to imagine they won't pick the Southern Crescent route, especially given the rest of SEHSR), and after that the Tier 2 environmental review can begin. The Tier 2 environmental review will be more detailed, focusing on things like station locations and picking between two options for entering the Atlanta area (Norfolk Southern's line, or CSX's line). No telling when those will be.
Map of the three alignments and the two Atlanta approaches (yanked from this Powerpoint)
Comparison of the three options (from the Alternatives chapter, pg. 44)
Map of the three alignments and the two Atlanta approaches (yanked from this Powerpoint)
Comparison of the three options (from the Alternatives chapter, pg. 44)