With the strong support of US$550 million from South Carolina’s elected leaders, South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) will soon have near-dock rail and an inner-harbor barge operation.
The SC Legislature and Governor Henry McMaster have allocated a total of US$550 million to fully fund these projects, US$400 million for the rail yard and US$150 million for the barge operation.
The aim of the project is to ensure the liquidity and capacity of the Southeast European supply chain.
On 17 October, SC Ports officials and elected officials gathered in North Charleston to celebrate the event.
“This critical infrastructure project will significantly enhance SC Ports’ capacity, allowing imports and exports to move quickly between the mainland and the Port of Charleston,” said SC ports president and CEO, Barbara Melvin.
According to SC Ports, the Naval Base’s intermodal facility is located about a mile from the Leatherman Terminal and containers will be moved to and from the Leatherman Terminal on a dedicated roadway.
SC Ports noted that in partnership with Palmetto Railways, Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, it will utilise its state-of-the-art rail yard to further enhance rail competitiveness.
Inside the intermodal yard, gantry cranes mounted on rails will guide containers over and under the trains, while it is anticipated that nearly 25,000 metres of rail track will create a capacity of 1 million rail lifts in Phase 1.
