Working on the railroad: Projects could add hundreds of jobs to region

Written by jrood

Two large-scale projects being pursued by Riverport Railroad, LLC, in Savanna, Ill., have the potential to add 350 to 400 new jobs to the Carroll County area, said Jack Koster, Riverport's president and CEO, the Freeport Journal Standard reports. The projects in question will not only create jobs, but generate significant property tax revenue and establish a "Rail Car Mall" serving companies across the U.S., Koster said.

"Carroll County is one of
the poorest counties as far as jobs in the state," Koster said. "Carroll County
and Jo Daviess County should benefit largely from this. … The tax base is
going to jump."

Over the next three
years, Riverport Railroad plans to substantially expand its operations at the
former Savanna Army Depot site with two major projects. Working with Rescar
Companies from Downers Grove, organizers will establish a Rail Car Mall where
rail cars can be cleaned, inspected, re-stenciled, repaired or disposed of,
Koster said. The project involves building a "huge" cleaning facility that
would utilize 10 miles of track, he said. Several new buildings would have to
be constructed as part of the project. The mall would create about 160 jobs
once it’s fully operational, Koster said. The jobs are not exportable offshore
and would remain on site, he said.

Congressman Don Manzullo,
R-Egan, said the proposed Rail Car Mall could put Carroll County on the map by
providing a unique, profitable service that would attract rail companies nationwide.

"This is massive,"
Manzullo said of the mall project. "This could be the freight car repair,
inspection and refurbishing facility in the country. It has that possibility.
It could be hundreds and hundreds of jobs."

In addition, Riverport officials
are looking to turn their company into the premiere "transloader" facility for BNSF,
Koster said. This will involve a substantial investment to fund infrastructure
improvements at the depot site, he said.

Including both projects,
Riverport and its partner companies will likely invest more than $25 million in
the next three years, Koster said.

"We would be producing
jobs," Koster said. "In about five years, we could have 300 to 400 jobs if you
include both projects."

With a transloading
facility, Riverport would transfer food products and other items from rail cars
to trucks and transport those items to various locations, Koster said. In some
cases, items would be transferred from trucks to railcars and then transported.

Koster did not specify
salary amounts, but said transloading jobs are "high-paying" and that there are
different salary levels.

Northwest Illinois, and
Carroll County in particular, have been hit hard by job losses in the last 10
years, officials said. In general, manufacturing jobs have been lost overseas
and the recent recession has added to the sluggish area economy. The closing of
the Savanna Army Depot in 2000 resulted in the loss of more than 400 jobs,
according to a Riverport news release. Also, the failure of the Milwaukee Road
Railroad in the 1970s and 1980s created substantial job losses, the release
states.

Riverport Railroad lease
purchased the Savanna Depot rail service in 1999, one year before the base was
officially closed. In 11 years, Riverport has invested more than $8 million to
improve and add rail services both for domestic shipments and to reach export
markets, the release states.

Savanna Mayor Larry
Stebbins said Riverport’s proposed new projects should greatly benefit the
region. Stebbins said people forget how devastating the depot’s closure was to
Carroll County, in terms of families moving away.

The projects should begin
creating new jobs as early as next month, Koster said. Consulting and
engineering jobs have already been created, he said.

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