Georgia to roll out roadside assistance on interstates

Folks who get a flat tire or run out of gas on the side of midstate interstates will soon have a new number to call for help: 511.

That’ll call a Champ unit, a Coordinated Highway Assistance and Maintenance Program truck from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Champs will have two main jobs, said GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry, speaking at a budget hearing at the state Capitol on Wednesday.

One is as service patrol to look for stranded motorists and provide help, he said.

The second is basic maintenance, such as removing torn up tires from the road, picking up litter and cutting back branches.

Champ trucks will work 16 hours a day throughout the state, except in metro Atlanta and two lengths of interstate in far northwest Georgia. Metro Atlanta already has a similar program, Highway Emergency Response Operators. It’s common to see those brightly lit vehicles stopped behind stranded metro Atlanta motorists.

“We’re very excited about rolling this out … the appearance of our roadsides, our overall safety will be much better across the entire state of Georgia, not just here in metro Atlanta which has the Hero program, which by far is one of the most popular programs we have.”

The Champ program will cost about $10 million per year, according to GDOT. The Champ contract was put out for bids last year. The program will roll out in the coming months.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Georgia to roll out roadside assistance on interstates."