The Georgia Department of Transportation State Transportation Board passed a resolution endorsing a project of The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, The Ray, to re-imagine our highway system into one that is safer and more sustainable.

The Ray, officially known as the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway, is an 18-mile corridor on Interstate 85 that connects exits 1 and 18 – from West Point, Ga., to LaGrange Ga.

Named for West Point native Ray Anderson, the founder of LaGrange-based Interface, Inc., and a champion for business and sustainability, The Ray is dedicated to becoming a proving ground for evolving ideas and technologies that will transform the transportation infrastructure of the future, inspiring the use of materials, innovations and construction techniques that have the potential to reduce fatalities, improve energy efficiency and prepare our logistics corridors to be highways of the future.

 “The Ray is our chance to show the world what is possible – our chance to demonstrate my father’s philosophy of ’doing well by doing good,’” said Harriet Langford, trustee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. “We believe it’s possible to reimagine our highway system so that it is safer and more sustainable, and that in doing so, we will create economic development opportunities for our community.”

“Georgia DOT and The Ray have accomplished together more than I expected in the last two years,” said State Transportation Board Member Sam M. Wellborn, who presented the resolution. “In that time, we’ve seen the region’s first solar-powered electric vehicle charging station installed at a Welcome Center that is a gateway between Georgia and the West, and we will landscape with wildflowers and native grass bioswales  -- landscaping that removes silt and pollution from surface runoff water -- this fall. The Ray sets Georgia apart as a national leader in transportation. Georgia DOT recognized the potential of this effort and seized it. This partnership is forward-thinking and producing remarkable results."