Sandersville Railroad

A retired Georgia couple is fighting back against a railroad company that wants to take land their family has owned for generations
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Don and Sally Garrett are among a group of landowners who partnered with the nonprofit Institute for Justice in the hope of keeping Sandersville Railroad from using eminent domain, a process that allows a state to seize land.
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Sandersville Railroad wants to build a rail spur so it can more easily transport materials used for making concrete from the Hanson Quarry, a rock mine owned by Heidelberg Materials, a German building-materials company previously known as HeidelbergCement.
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Should the state of Georgia give Sandersville Railroad the authority to take the Garretts' land, the couple must be fairly compensated, according to the Department of Justice. But money isn't what they're after — the Garretts simply want to keep their land.
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Ben Tarbutton III, a representative for Sandersville Railroad, said the company disagreed "with the assertions made by the Institute for Justice."

He said the spur line would only make one round trip a day, creating new jobs and tax revenue "for one of Georgia's poorest counties."

"The spur will not require the taking of anyone's home nor will it prevent any property owner from using their pastures, hunting areas, or timbering their property," Tarbutton said.
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The Sandersville Railroad Company on Aug. 8 announced that it has added Pittman Construction as an additional user of its planned rail spur in Hancock County, Ga.

According to the railroad, Pittman will utilize the spur to transport liquid asphalt, a non-hazardous, low-temperature, highly viscous to semi-solid ingredient in asphalt used to pave highways. Liquid asphalt is currently being delivered to the Pittman facility via truck.

The 4.5-mile-long spur, which will connect the CSX rail line that runs along Georgia’s Highway 16 in Hancock County to the Heidelberg Materials aggregate quarry in Sparta, Ga. Pittman, is projected to “greatly benefit the Hancock County community, generating more than $1.5 million in annual economic benefit, reducing truck traffic on the county’s roads and creating jobs for the county,” according to Sandersville Railroad. Pittman is located adjacent to the Heidelberg Facility at the end of the spur.
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