UNION
COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
100 Hunt-Martin Street
(formerly 100 Hospital Street)
P.O. Box 801
Blairsville, Georgia 30514-0801 U.S.A.
Mitch Griggs, Executive Director
Phone (706) 745-4500
Fax (706) 745-4500
email: mitch@ucda.net
Atlanta
From Blairsville via GA 515, it is 119 miles to Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, which was the world's busiest in number of scheduled commercial airline flights in 2001. The Hartsfield Terminal complex currently handles 2,400 arrivals and departures daily.
| Concourse T | American, United and some Delta flights |
 |
| Concourse E | With 32-gates serves Atlanta's international passenger and cargo traffic. Federal inspection services can handle 8,000 arriving passengers hourly. Departing flights offer service to 40+ international cities. | |
| Concourse A | Delta concourse | |
| Concourse B | Delta concourse | |
| Concourse C | ASA - a Delta Connection partner and AirTran flights | |
| Concourse D | Most domestic flights (except American, Delta and United.) |
There are same plane flights to 180 cities, 150 by non-stop flights from Atlanta. Eighty percent of the nation's population is within two hours flight-time. Atlanta is the main hub for Delta Air Lines. At Hartsfield, new technology means that aircraft can land in weather conditions which previously required inconvenient and expensive diversions to other airports. The FAA permits such landing operations at only two other U. S. airports, both on the West Coast.
Airlines arriving and departing from Hartsfield include: Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air France, Air Jamaica, AirTran Airlines, American Airlines, America West, ASA Atlantic Southeast Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Corporate Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Midwest Express, Northwest Airlines, South African Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, Vanguard Airlines and 24 cargo carriers. www.atlanta-airport.com
Chattanooga
Chattanooga's Metropolitan Airport is 95 miles west-northwest of Blairsville via US 129 / US 64 / I-75. Commercial airline service with 44 flights daily includes: American Airlines/American Eagle, Delta Air Lines/ASA, Delta Air Lines/Comair, Northwest Airlines/Northwest Airlink and U.S. Airways Express. Services include: air cargo, rental car agencies, travel agents, restaurants, corporate aviation facilities, FBO, short and long term parking. www.chattairport.com
OVERNIGHT PACKAGE CARRIERS
Overnight package pickup and delivery services are provided by the following companies:
| Name of Package Service | Latest pickup time for next day delivery |
| Global Express Guaranteed (U. S. Post Office) www.usps.com | 5:00 p.m. |
| Federal Express | 3:00 p.m. |
| United Parcel Service (U. P. S.) www.ups.com | 5:00 p.m. |
BLAIRSVILLE AIRPORT
The Blairsville Airport has a 5,000 foot X 100 foot paved and lighted runway located 3 miles southwest of Blairsville at latitude 34 degrees 51.195 minutes north and longitude 84 degrees 0.102 minutes west. Just opened is a $3-million expansion making it a regional airport. Although the runway is open and operational, final construction will not be completed until late 2006.
There is a beacon, runway lights and threshold lights, but no instrument approach or other navigational aids, except for a VORTAC unit about 7 miles northeast. Thirty-one new T-hangers were completed in 2006. Other services provided are: aircraft tie down, hangers, 100 LL fuel, rest rooms, auto rental, telephone (706) 745-4307, and is attended from 8:00 a.m. to dusk daily and Sundays. The Airport Manager is Glenn Miller. For a very detailed listing of the Blairsville Airport: www.airnav.com/airport/46A
Blairsville Municipal Airport with Blairsville Airport Regional Industrial Park in foreground.
RAIL SERVICE
Because of the mountainous terrain, no rail service is available to industries and industrial sites in Blairsville. The nearest rail service is available from CSX Corp at Copper Hill, Tennessee, 32 miles west of Blairsville, or Norfolk Southern Corporation at Gainesville, GA, 53 miles south.
PIGGYBACK SERVICES
Piggyback loading rail service is available 100 miles west in Chattanooga or 100 miles southwest in Atlanta.
FREIGHT CONSOLIDATING AND FREIGHT FORWARDING
Blairsville is served by freight consolidators who serve from Atlanta offices. For a listing of freight forwarding companys: www.forwarders.com/StateDirectory/GA.html
AUTOMOBILE RENTING AND LEASING
Automobile renting and leasing is available in Blairsville from the following:
| A & A Auto Rental | Phone (706) 745-5017 |
| Ford Rental System (King Ford, Murphy) | Phone (828) 837-2121 |
| Ware Chevrolet | Phone (706) 745-2243 |
HIGHWAYS SERVING UNION COUNTY
Highways serving Union County include: GA 515 (Zell Miller Parkway - the multi-lane Appalachian Developmental Highway connecting Blairsville to I-575 and I-75), US 19/129, US 76, and Georgia Highways 2, 11, 60, 180 (Richard Russell Scenic Highway), 325, 348, and 515.
Total road mileage in Union County in 2003 was 555.2, with 404.25 miles paved. There were 86.99 miles of federal and state routes, 461.55 miles of county roads, and 6.66 miles of city streets. Union County ranked 65 of 159 counties in percentage of roads paved with 72.8% paved.
MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS IN UNION COUNTY - 2003
| Passenger | 11,572 |
| Trucks | 7,804 |
| Trailers | 4,023 |
| Motorcycles | 557 |
| Buses | 54 |
| Other | 1 |
| Total | 24,011 |
MOTOR FREIGHT CARRIERS
Blairsville and Union County are served by 18 motor freight inter/intrastate carriers, 2 carriers who operate interstate only, and 0 local terminals.
| Inter/intrastate Carriers | Location of Terminal |
| Atlanta Motor Lines, Inc. | Blue Ridge |
| American Freightways, Inc | Athens |
| Averitt Express, Inc. | Atlanta |
| Bailey's Express, Inc. | n/a |
| Direct Services Transport, Inc. | n/a |
| Estes Express, Inc. | Atlanta |
| F-F-E Transportation Services, Inc. | Atlanta |
| Humboldt Express, Inc. | n/a |
| Jones Truck Lines, Inc. | Blue Ridge |
| MCO Transport, Inc. | Savannah |
| New York Carolina Express | n/a |
| Overnite Transportation Co. | n/a |
| RCA Truck Lines, Inc. | Atlanta |
| Roadway Express | Franklin, NC |
| Smalley Transportation Co. | Atlanta |
| Southeastern Freight Lines | Dalton |
| TSC Express | Gainesville |
| Yellow Freight System, Inc. | n/a |
Two carriers operate Interstate only:
| Interstate Only | Location of Terminal |
| Buske Lines, Inc. | n/a |
| Great Coastal Express, Inc. | Atlanta |
MOTOR FREIGHT CARRIER SUMMARY
| 18 | INTER/INTRASTATE CARRIERS |
| 2 | INTERSTATE ONLY |
| 0 | INTRASTATE ONLY |
| 0 | LOCAL TERMINALS |
SOURCE: American Motor Carrier Directory, Spring 1995
www.cbizmedia.com/amc.html