Written By: Summer Yates

With over 40 hotels and nearly 200 restaurants, Valdosta, Ga., is often considered the “pit stop city.” It attracts consumers from over 15 counties throughout South Georgia and North Florida.

Located in Lowndes County, Valdosta’s main source of income derives largely from the travelers stopping by for the city’s variety of hotels and restaurants.

According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, out of 159 counties in the state, Lowndes County is ranked 13^th in travel expenditures, bringing in about $234.8 million in 2011.

So, how does this small city, with a population of 57,000 people, generate such booming tourism? Its convenient location off Interstate 75.

Stretching from Miami, Fla., to Sault St. Marie, Mich., the 1,786-mile long road has largely contributed, if not fostered, the prosperity of Valdosta.

In 1860, the first Atlantic and Gulf train arrived just outside of a small town called Troupville. The town then moved their houses and businesses four miles to sit at the railroad and renamed themselves Valdosta, after a plantation owned by their governor.

Just as the railroad inspired commerce and trade in the past, so I-75 has contributed to Valdosta’s popularity and business today.

In 1956, Valdosta mayor Emory Bass created a joint City-County-Chamber of Commerce Highway Committee in an attempt to draw business into the city from the highway.

According to the Lowndes County Historical Society and Museum, the committee observed federal and state roads, and brainstorming plans to form the next big road project they would recommend to the Georgia Highway Board.

Construction of what was to be Interstate 75 began three years later in 1959 and on July 15, 1963, I-75 opened into Florida.

Numerous hotels and restaurants began sprouting up around Valdosta in 1965 including the Briarwood Motel, the Davis Brothers Cafeteria, Ramada Inn motel, and four new service stations. (The Briarwood Motel and Ramada Inn currently remain.)

Today many restaurants located off the ramp of the Valdosta exit, such as Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse, rely heavily on I-75 for business.

“Last week, there was a wreck or detour miles away from our exit, slowing us down and losing the restaurant thousands of dollars in just one night,” says Justin Simms, proprietor and manager of Valdosta’s Outback Steakhouse.

“Holidays like Christmas, or events like the upcoming South Georgia Classic [golf tournament in Valdosta] bring in travelers, and we make the most money during these events,” says Dayna Dabney, office manager at Outback.

The vitality of I-75 is evident through the dependence of the businesses located off the interstate highway.

Before I-75, there was only the Dixie Highway, created in 1915, that linked the Canadian border to Miami, Fl. Its name was eventually changed to U. S. 41 and sits 25 miles north of the Georgia line.

The biggest change brought about by I-75 was the convenience and speed it provided to its drivers.

“Before, you had to ride U.S. 41 and slow down everywhere you went because of the traffic lights,” Victoria Benevidas, Valdosta citizen of over 40 years says, “With [I-75], there was nothing to slow you down. Travelling was much, much faster.”

“My husband lived in New Jersey back then and [the creation of] I-75 definitely cut the trip in half,” says Mildred Evans, another citizen from the olden days of Valdosta.

The community was not alone in noticing the rapid influx of travelers.

On Oct. 15, 1965, TIME magazine published an article observing the recent progress on highways throughout the country and stated: “Valdosta enjoyed a tourist boom that has created new jobs in motel restaurants and gas stations.”

The city of Valdosta, as well as the six states and countless cities it serves, owes much, if not all, their booming growth and prosperity to the creation of Interstate 75.