Start of JAXPORT Rail Terminal construction marked with golden spike ceremony

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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JAXPORT/Meredith Fordham Hughes

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown and a host of other federal, state and local leaders gathered May 12 to mark the start of construction on the The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) at Dames Point,

which will provide on-dock rail service to JAXPORT’s North Jacksonville marine terminals.

The new facility, expected to be operational in late 2015, will complement existing on-dock rail facilities at the Blount Island Marine Terminal and will further enhance the competitiveness of both Blount Island and the TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point by facilitating the direct transfer of containers between vessels and trains, speeding up the shipment process and reducing the number of trucks on the road.

“What we are marking here today is one more milestone toward maximizing the benefits of the public assets entrusted to us,” said Joe York, chairman of the JAXPORT Board of Directors. “We are building on an already outstanding transportation system that supports Florida’s role as a gateway for international trade into and out of the Sunshine State and the Southeast U.S. We are capitalizing on the recognition and investment we receive from our federal government, as a port of importance to the nation’s health and economic well-being.”

The project has a budget of $30 million, made up of both state and federal grants. In December 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded JAXPORT and the city of Jacksonville a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant toward the development of the facility. The Florida Department of Transportation has allocated an additional $20 million to construct the project.

 

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