After $24 million of investment and years of labor, the Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville announced this week that it completed infrastructure enhancement projects that have effectively added four miles to its 11-mile rail network, and improved its railroad infrastructure and intermodal capabilities throughout.
“We couldn’t be prouder to welcome (barges) from all over the world carrying millions of tons of cargo every year, supporting tens of thousands of careers and billions of dollars of economic impact,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a taped statement. “It’s truly what propels our progress. Thank you for your continued commitment to fostering economic vitality through world-class infrastructure and keeping it all flowing so we all can keep growing.”
Jeffersonville alone contributes $1.8 billion annually in economic impact for Indiana. It also set a shipping record last year with 3.22 million tons handled. For its improvement, a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant provided $10 million of needed funds, while the Ports of Indiana supplied $11 million and another $3 million were raised from the private sector.
At the end, improvements included the miles of new track meant to allow for unit train delivery to and from the port, including two new rail loops connected to the waterfront facility. Jeffersonville’s waterfront intermodal facility also more than doubled the capacity of bulk commodities transferred from rail cars or trucks to barges, with a capability to run more than 2,000 tons in a single hour by conveyor belt, or a full rail car to barge in less than three minutes. The port also gained a three acre transload facility that allows cargo to be transferred between trucks and rail cars. Total, the port’s railyard can now accommodate more than 200 rail cars as well.
“The completion of the TIGER project is the result of the commitment that the Ports of Indiana has to best-in-class infrastructure and making our Indiana network bigger, better, faster,” Vanta Coda II, Ports of Indiana CEO, said. “This infrastructure will allow our current and future customers to grow for the next 50 years.”
The ports envision new cargo and large-scale industrial projects of the region, now that Jeffersonville and other projects have finished work. They hope to increase Indiana’s maritime commerce through domestic barge service.