I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 281
To require a study and report regarding the construction and designation 
of a new Interstate from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mississippi. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2005
Mr. NORWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require a study and report regarding the construction 
and designation of a new Interstate from Augusta, Geor-
gia to Natchez, Mississippi.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘14th/14 Amendment 
Interstate Highway Initiation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDING. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The 11-State region in the Southeast that 
has been known historically as the Southern Black 
Belt is in need of the same regional economic devel-
opment plans in 2005 as those modeled by the Ap-
palachian Regional Commission in 1965. 
(2) The Southern Black Belt has an African-
American population that is double the national av-
erage, due to historic population concentrations dat-
ing to the pre-emancipation period. It was largely 
with the protection and economic advancement of 
the residents of this region in mind that Congress 
passed and the states ratified the 14th Amendment 
to the U.S. Constitution in 1868, guaranteeing equal 
rights to all persons in the United States, including 
those formerly held in involuntary servitude. 
(3) This region and its residents, particularly 
the descendents of freed slaves, suffer from high un-
employment, low incomes, low education levels, poor 
health, and high infant mortality. Congress recog-
nizes the studies, findings, and recommendations on 
these problems of the Southern Black Belt by the 
University of Georgia, Tuskegee Institute, North 
Carolina State University, and the University of 
Kentucky. 
(4) Disparity in transportation infrastructure 
investment has been a key contributing factor to the 
persistent poverty and social ills of this region. The 
lack of adequate east-west Interstate highway access
has provided a significant impediment to travel 
throughout the region, served as a severe obstacle to 
the attraction of industry and jobs, and has been a 
detriment to public health and transportation safety. 
(5) Congress hereby resolves that a new Inter-
state Highway designated ‘‘United States Interstate 
Route 14’’ should be built through the heart of the 
Southern Black Belt, linking Augusta, Georgia to 
Natchez, Mississippi, following a route generally de-
fined through Macon and Columbus, Georgia; Mont-
gomery, Alabama; and Laurel and Natchez, Mis-
sissippi. 
(6) In light of the promise of economic parity 
made by the nation to this region in the 14th 
Amendment, this new interstate highway should be 
named the ‘‘14th Amendment Highway’’. 
SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 
Not later than December 31, 2005, the Secretary of 
Transportation shall study and report to the appropriate 
committees of Congress regarding the steps and estimated 
funding necessary to designate and construct a new inter-
state route (Interstate Route I–14) for the 14th Amend-
ment Highway, from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mis-
sissippi (formerly designated the Fall Line Freeway within 
the State of Georgia).
Æ