DALTON, Ga. -- When Interstate 75 was built through Whitfield County, the superhighway got a chunk of Al Holland's family farm. U.S. Highway 41 and Carbondale Road also each took a piece.
Holland showed up at Monday's high-speed rail meeting in Dalton to be sure tracks for a bullet train didn't lay claim to another portion.
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"We've given enough," Holland said. "People aren't going to get on that thing and ride to Atlanta."
About 80 people attended the Georgia Department of Transportation's information meeting at Dalton State College on Monday night, hearing a presentation for the proposed train line that would carry passengers at 180 mph or more down the I-75 corridor. Eventually, transportation planners hope the line will run from Jacksonville, Fla., to Chicago with stops in Macon, Louisville, Nashville and Cincinnati.
Like a similar meeting in Chattanooga last week, consultants and highway department officials discussed a study looking at the environmental impact of the line as well as transit times and which routes would serve the most people. The leading candidates were routes either in the median or west shoulder of I-75 from downtown Chattanooga to the Atlanta airport with stops in Dalton, Cartersville, Kennesaw and downtown Atlanta.
"You cannot do anything with public transit or highways without looking at the impact on the natural and social environment," said Georgia DOT spokesman Mohamed Arafa.
While Holland kept quiet during the presentation, the farmer wasn't bashful about sharing his opinion afterward.
"Ain't none of these ever paid for itself in the United States," he said of planned rail lines. Looking at the maps, he said it didn't appear the primary options for the routes would affect his property.
Other attendees were more optimistic, but some expressed reservations.
Teresa Boozer lives next to the interstate in Dalton and said she is concerned noise from the train might hurt the value of her property.
"That's the downside," she said. "Overall I think it would be a huge asset to the community."
Boozer said she would likely use the train to visit her son in Atlanta and to get to the Atlanta airport.
Dalton resident Dianne Putnam said she was glad to see the proposed route would not only go to the Atlanta airport, but also would have stops at shopping malls in Cobb County and downtown.
"It's a big ordeal to get to the airport," she said.
But as chairman of the conservative-minded Dalton Tea Party she said she is wary of the burden the project might put on taxpayers.
East Ridge native Tom Gay, who now lives in the Atlanta suburbs but commutes to Dalton and Forsyth County, Ga., said the meeting was exciting.
"You've heard talk about it now for five or 10 years," he said. "Now with all of this in front of you, you see it could be a possibility."
Contact staff writer Andy Johns at ajohns@timesfree press.com or call 423-757-6324.