NEWS - Ports & Transportation

SBJ Staff Report

Dec 19, 2011 -The Georgia Ports Authority Board approved a $6.5 million, 6,000-foot extension of the Mason Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) at its most recent board meeting.

The initiative is designed to expand capacity, improve efficiencies and reduce costs for customers, according to Curtis J. Foltz, GPA executive director.

Construction on the project will begin in January and, when complete, the Garden City terminal will feature a combined 46,921 linear feet of track between two on-site rail yards serving Class I rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern.

“Our two intermodal rail facilities allow rapid unloading and reloading and prevent the need for truck hauling from remote rail yards to the port,” said Foltz. “This expansion is part of a continual effort to improve our facility and increase efficiency.”

The move comes on the heels of a strong year-to-date showing in intermodal container transfers. The four-month period from July through October 2011 saw 109,036 intermodal container moves, a 14 percent growth over the same period last year, at 96,034 transfers.

Year-to-date volumes were boosted by the port’s largest month ever for rail transfers in August, with a monthly total of 28,610.