This week the Georgia Ports Authority broke ground on a new project in Garden City that will dramatically reduce the need for trucks state-wide.
Transportation officials broke ground on the $126 million Mason Mega Rail Terminal on Tuesday. The project is expected to double the rail capacity of the Port of Savannah to 1 million containers per year, according to a news release from the Georgia Ports Authority. Port officials say that the project will “add 97,000 feet of new rail at Garden City Terminal, for a total of 179,000 feet. It will increase the number of working tracks from 8 to 18.” Additionally, the port authority’s new project will combine the CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern rail terminals into a single facility.
The Mason Mega Rail Terminal will allow direct rail freight delivery to a greater number of location in the Midwest, opening up markets in Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati.
The increased rail capacity is expected to result in a significant drop in the need for trucks. The Georgia Ports Authority estimates that the project will take 200,000 trucks off the road annually. Port officials promise that the reduced need for trucks will result in less highway congestion in the state of Georgia.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal praised the project: “Today is a great day for Georgia and the nation. Not only will this new intermodal facility take trucks off the road and bring our products to market with greater efficiency, but it will open a new corridor for American commerce to and from the Midwest.”
The Mason Mega Rail Terminal project will finished by 2020, according to current estimates.