Five years after opening the Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County, Georgia, the Georgia Ports Authority is preparing to build another North Georgia inland rail hub to help move cargo shipments coming into the Savannah Port on the Atlantic Ocean.
The ports authority said it has gained federal approval for the Northeast Georgia Inland Port in the Gainesville-Hall County area. The authority will finalize a $46.8 million grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration to help pay for the new inland container port along the Interstate-85/Interstate-985 corridor.
Earthwork is slated to begin in July, with terminal construction scheduled to begin in January 2024. The inland rail hub is projected to open in the summer of 2026.
“Our expanding network is increasing rail capacity and connectivity between the port and major manufacturing sites around the state,” ports authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said in an announcement of the new inland rail hub. “Moving more cargo by rail eases interstate traffic and reduces the carbon footprint of the state’s logistics industry by making the most efficient use of Georgia’s logistics infrastructure.”
Georgia Ports Authority anticipates the new inland rail hub will open with volumes of 60,000 containers per year and employ about 20 workers. The new rail hub “will deliver other opportunities for employment and economic growth as industry is drawn to its logistical benefits,” Stacy Watson, the authority’s director of economic and industrial development, said.
“That’s a dynamic we’ve already seen with our Appalachian Regional Port,” Watson said in the announcement.
The authority’s first inland terminal in Murray County has handled 28,552 containers so far this year, an increase of 23% compared to the same period last year, the Georgia Ports Authority said in a news release. The inland rail hub near Crandall, Georgia, helped bring GE Appliances’ $32 million Southern Logistics Center to Murray County and Huali Floors’ $27 million manufacturing facility in Murray County, Lynch said. Other developments include SK Battery in the Rome-Cartersville area and the fourth expansion of Hanwha’s solar panel factory.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner