(playful music) (box clattering) - My package came in.

Yes, my new sneakers.

If you think about it, it's pretty cool that you can have something delivered right to you in a couple of days, or sometimes just a few hours.

And this kind of convenience is something we're pretty used to.

But imagine going to the store and there's nothing on the shelves or ordering a package, but it never arrives.

(person screaming) Scary, right?

The smooth movement of goods isn't just luck.

It's actually the result of Georgia's transportation systems hard at work.

Georgia's economy is powered by four key transportation systems: water, rail, road, and air.

Together, they keep everything moving, from the groceries you grab at the store to those online packages you're eyeing like a hawk.

(engine roaring) Georgia's water, rail, road and airways move goods and people across the state, throughout the United States and around the world.

The relationship between the four transportation systems isn't just essential to Georgia's economy, it impacts the entire country.

(paper rustling) First up, water.

Water is the oldest method of transporting goods and people from one place to another.

That's why so many Indigenous settlements and our early important cities like Savannah, Augusta, and Macon are located along rivers.

People use these rivers to transport goods up and down the state.

And because several rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean, Georgians were able to transport those goods even beyond Georgia.

Deep water ports like those in Savannah and Brunswick have been in operation for hundreds of years, and they remain vital to Georgia's economy by connecting us to places all over the world.

They allow us to bring in goods from overseas and send Georgia-made products abroad, like cars, heavy machinery, and even raw materials like cotton.

Most states don't have a deep water port, but Georgia is fortunate to have two.

And those ports don't just move goods and help businesses.

Together they are a part of one of the state's largest public employers, the Georgia Ports Authority, which supports thousands of jobs throughout Georgia.

(train whistle screaming) Next, we've got railways.

(train chugging) The first railroad tracks were laid in Georgia in the 1830s, connecting cities that were too far apart for a horse and buggy.

Some were passenger lines built to carry people who wanted to travel while other tracks were constructed to carry freight or large amounts of goods.

Those freight lines were constructed not to connect existing towns, but to connect distant points, like Georgia's coast with the Tennessee River, Atlanta with the Mississippi River, and Savannah with the Gulf Coast.

This made it easier to ship goods to neighboring states.

As a result, many towns like College Park, Waycross, and Barnesville grew alongside railways and train depots.

Even Atlanta, our own state capital and most populated city, owes its origins to the railroads.

See, people followed opportunities near train depots, the points where trains would stop to unload or refuel.

A depot would be built to support the train system, and then businesses would flock to the area to capitalize on potential customers.

Before you knew it, an entire town was born.

Eventually, cities complete with hotels, saloons, stables, blacksmiths, and warehouses would pop up with the train depot at their center.

Some local governments even moved their county seats along the railroad to make it easier for people to do business.

Passenger railways declined in popularity throughout the 20th century as automobiles became more affordable and abundant.

But railroads aren't just a thing of the past, they are still an essential part of Georgia's economy today.

This industry relies on engineers, freight operators, logistics coordinators, and so many others to help move goods throughout America's interior at a low cost.

Now that we've talked about the railways, it's time to hit the road.

As a transportation hub of the Southeast, Georgia heavily relies on the interstate highway system to transport its goods and services.

Interstate highways aren't just any old roads, like the ones we might take to school or the library.

They are specifically designed and constructed for high speed travel and transporting heavy loads.

Unlike regular roads, highways typically have multiple lanes, guardrails that separate them from residential areas and are part of a larger system that connects cities and towns.

Before highways, there were trading paths that were cleared for horses and cattle.

But in 1805, with direction from the federal government, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee were connected by the original Federal Road for easier trade and westward expansion.

In the 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower wanted to expand on the idea of interstate travel in order to connect the entire country.

it was inspired by the Autobahn in Germany that helped the Allied forces transport ammo and wanted a similar system in the United States.

So in 1956, he signed a bill into law that would create highways.

This new development provided jobs to over 300,000 Americans and eventually connected the entire country with a system of interstate highways.

And because of Georgia's geographic location, some of the nation's most important interstate highways run through our state.

One of these highways is I-95.

It goes from Miami all the way up to Maine, running along Georgia's coast.

Another is I-75, which connects Miami to Michigan.

This interstate runs north-south in Georgia and goes directly through the capital of Atlanta and other important cities like Macon and Tifton.

And I-20 running east-west cuts through Georgia's midsection and connects cities like Augusta and Atlanta.

(paper tearing) All of these highways transport billions of dollars worth of cargo each year and provide thousands of jobs, like truckers, engineers, and road construction workers.

Another benefit of Georgia's interstates?

They rarely close due to weather conditions, and some of them pass right by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world.

We can't just fly by the airport.

It's time we talk about our last major transportation system.

Every year, millions of people and hundreds of thousands of metric tons of cargo pass through Atlanta's airport.

From electronics to medical supplies, if it's gotta get somewhere fast, it's flying out of Atlanta.

While each transportation system has its own purpose, they all rely on each other to get the job done.

So let's go back to my new sneakers.

How did they get here?

First, they were made overseas and delivered by cargo ship to the Port of Savannah.

Then the shipping container it was on was loaded onto a freight train, traveled up to Atlanta where the container got unloaded and then put on the back of an 18 wheeler.

That truck then traveled along the interstate highway to deliver the sneakers to a local fulfillment center where they were packaged up, put on the back of a delivery truck and dropped off at my house.

And just in time for me to hop on a plane to visit my family.

(plane whooshing) Lots of moving parts, right?

Water, rail, road and air.

They all work together to keep Georgia and the country connected.

So what's your favorite item?

Next time you order something or make a purchase at a store, remember, Georgia's amazing transportation network and its employees are working hard to bring goods to you.

Wanna take it further?

Try tracking the next item you order online or research where it's made.

Then map out its journey to your hometown.

Its route may surprise you.

(lively music) (dramatic music)