Port official eyes expansion

FLORENCE - Hal Greer hadn't been on the job very long before he was asked to prepare an application for a grant that could hasten the completion of a major Port of Florence expansion and renovation project.

Actually, Greer had not officially left the job he held in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

A 2007 long-range port study would provide the basis for a multi-million dollar Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant.

About $1.5 billion will be made available through TIGER grants, which are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The port improvement project would cost about $28 million, Greer said. "It's pretty broad based in terms of the development of the port."

The improvements would be another step toward increasing the port's intermodal capabilities, integrating waterway transportation with rail and truck transportation.

To improve the capabilities already in place, Greer said the overhead bridge crane would be expanded toward Canal Street, which will allow large containers and other cargo to be lifted off barges and placed onto tractor-trailers or railcars.

Greer said he expects to see intermodal transportation continue to grow and expects to see more intermodal containers being transported by barge.

It makes sense, he said, as the country seeks more energy-efficient ways to transport products. It also strengthens the port's TIGER application.

Greer said waterways transportation is more efficient than rail and trucking. It also leaves a smaller carbon footprint than those two modes of transportation.

The port development project would create numerous jobs during the construction phase, but very few additional workers at the port once completed. The economic benefit, Greer said, would be for businesses that could take advantage of what the improved port had to offer.

It would certainly help increase business for the Tennessee Southern Railroad, which serves the port and connects with CSX Railroad north of Columbia, Tenn., he said.

The plan also includes increased storage at the port, including a new warehouse, increased outdoor storage areas and more capacity for the storage of bulk cargos such as sand and gravel.

Increased rail sidings also would be built to accommodate more rail cars and provide improved switching capabilities for the railroad.

Greer said it's anticipated that Wise Alloys will need more space to store aluminum ingots and slabs after signing a contract with Anheuser-Busch.

Greer said market analyses have indicated there is more business that could utilize the port, especially if the planned improvements are completed.

"If the port is properly marketed and understood by all the development agencies, it could be a major economic development tool," Greer said. "In my experience in the port business, inland ports are typically overlooked as the resources they are."

Forrest Wright, executive director of the Shoals Economic Development Authority, said the port is important to the movement of products in and out of the Shoals.

"It's already an economic development tool, both for recruitment of new business, but it's equally important to the businesses that are already in the area," Wright said.

Not only is the port important to bringing products from elsewhere through inland waterways, but also as a point of distribution once they are unloaded.

"The use of rivers for transportation purposes varies during different economic seasons," Wright said. "Right now, there is a lot of interest in using the river for the transportation of large production."

Wright said inland intermodal service is still trying to gain a foothold in the U.S.

The grant application received the blessing of the Florence City Council, the Lauderdale County Commission and the Shoals Metropolitan Planning Organization, which also endorsed a TIGER grant application to fund the relocation of railroad tracks in Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals.

Greer said he's optimistic the improvements at the port will likely be completed with or without the grant.

"It could happen at a slower pace," Greer said. "What this grant would do is accelerate it by about 10 years."

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.