Huge financial boost for New Orleans
December 19, 2011
The US Department of Transportation has awarded the port of New Orleans a grant of US$16.7 million to construct a freight rail terminal and finance other improvements to cargo operations.
The Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal and Yard Improvements project involves relocation and reconfiguration of an old rail yard into a new 12-acre freight rail terminal at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal, plus the construction of four acres of heavy-duty concrete paving for handling and storage of cargo at the Louisiana Avenue Terminal.
Congressmen Cedric Richmond of Louisiana said: “This funding allows the port of New Orleans to capitalise on advantages that don’t exist anywhere else in the country.
“As the only deepwater port in the United States with six Class I railroads, this new rail terminal will allow the port to be even more competitive, nationally and internationally.”
The port of New Orleans connects to a rail network encompassing 132,000 miles of track within a 14,500 mile inland waterway that serves 30 US states and six Canadian provinces, added Richmond.
Total project cost is expected to be $26 million. The $16.7 million grant is provided under the 2011 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The remainder of the project will be funded by Port of New Orleans.
Courtesy of IFW
