Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) broke ground Tuesday on the $126.7 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal, which will all 97,000 feet of track at Garden City Terminal and will increase the Port of Savannah’s rail lift capacity to 1 million containers annually.
It also will open new markets from Memphis to St. Louis, and from Chicago to Cincinnati.
“This project is a game changer,” GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. “Our team estimates the Mason Mega Rail Terminal will slash rail time to the Midwest by a good 24 hours, and present a viable new option for many manufacturers, shippers, and logistics professionals.”
The rail terminal is part of Gov. Nathan Deal’s strategy to make Georgia North America’s transportation and logistics hub. The strategy includes a $10 billion transportation improvement plan.
Once the Mason Mega Rail Terminal is completed, Garden City Terminal will have 18 working tracks, 180,000 feet of rail, and the capability of building 10,000-foot unit trains on the terminal.
It also will allow GPA to avoid the use of nearly two dozen rail crossings by bringing all rail switching onto the terminal. This will improve traffic flow on several roadways including on Georgia Highways 21 and 25 by taking an estimated 200,000 trucks annually off the road.