A project to increase the profile and visibility of the Pierce County industrial park, both literally and figuratively, is taking shape near the park’s Highway 84 entrance. Pierce County commuters and anyone else traveling along the highway between Blackshear and Waycross have likely noticed the recent construction of the new signage.
Spearheaded by the Industrial Development and Building Authority’s (IDBA) new executive director Blake James, the project began with various businesses in the park approaching James shortly after he took up his new position, wanting a sign or signs put up to alert people of their presence in the park. James reviewed quotes with the IDBA board from three different vendors detailing material and labor fees in November 2025 and an initial outlay of $20,000 was approved for the project. Ultimately, $38,750 was paid to Georgia SBJ Company of Waycross to bring the project to life.
Originally scheduled to be completed in late February of this year, the date was revised to mid-March at the IDBA regular meeting for February, and with the signage now quickly taking shape it appears that later estimate was mostly accurate.
Beyond a merely visual signpost for those already driving there to know they are approaching their destination, the sign is meant to convey to out-of-area project managers and potential investors that Pierce County is serious about the future of its industrial park “We’re finally going to have a sign out there,” said IDBA Board President Steven Paul.
Once completed, the new signage will be a vinyl faced, fully illuminated and backlit structure with a base mounted 12 feet above the ground. The framework is already in place and the topmost sign, reading Pierce County Industrial Park was attached the afternoon of March 19. Signs for some of the business already located in the park will soon fill in the spaces underneath that header.
Permission from CSX was required to clear brush and vegetation from along their right-of-way to increase visibility of the new signage.
James has previously gone on record saying he would have preferred a more central location for the sign, but the cost of bringing power to the sign in a more central spot would have “drastically” increased the total price tag of the project. He feels the chosen location of the new sign represents the next best possible option.
In a phone call with The Times, the IDBA executive director conveyed his satisfaction that the work was nearly done and indicated the sign was already drawing notice. “You are the third person to call me just today about the sign,” said James. “The people I’ve talked to seem excited about it.”
With the completion of its first rail spur in 2023, the overall increase of the park’s footprint through land purchases in 2024, 2025, and early this year, the imminent completion of its Georgia Ready Accelerated Development site certification and now the new sign, the Pierce Industrial park looks primed for new investments that can hopefully bring jobs and tax revenue to the county.
