Recent improvements at the Columbus-Lowndes Port mean material can now be loaded between railcars and barges quicker, potentially resulting in fewer trucks on the road.
Columbus-Lowndes Port Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning for a new railcar mover, crosstie replacement and for a new rail spur at the port, all made possible by grant money from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
CLPA Director Will Sanders invited members of the Port Board, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, as well as representatives from the Mississippi Department of Transportation. State Representative Dana McLean and State Senator Chuck Younger were also in attendance.
At the ceremony, Sanders, joined by Port Manager Eddie Rushing, talked about two key additions made possible by MDOT grant money.
The additions were made possible through two grants from the MDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund. One $486,974 grant was awarded in 2021 for a third lane rail spur expansion and crosstie repairs. One thousand crossties were replaced as a result. The second grant came this year in the amount of $598,447, awarded for the purchase of a new railcar mover. CLPA paid $544,398.66 for the machine, with the balance of unused funds remaining in the MDOT fund.
“We want to thank MDOT for allowing us to get here,” Sanders said.
A railcar mover is a vehicle that can travel on rails or roads, which is fitted with couplers for moving one or more railroad cars.
The new 2021 model ShuttleWagon railcar mover can move 20 railcars at a time, compared to the 1978 TrackMobile model that the port used before, which only moved five. Forty to 60 railcars can be moved per day now, compared to around 20 before.
According to Sanders, the new railcar mover will cause a decrease in congestion at the port and an increase in overall efficiency. It also significantly decreases truck traffic through The Island and on highways.
“That’s the biggest safety factor of that, and transportation-wise, it’s cheaper by rail and water than it is by roads,” Rushing said.
The new railcar mover is operated by one person whereas the old model took three employees to run.
“It actually alleviates my people to where I can get the job done quicker,” Rushing said.
While other industries also use the port, Lowndes County’s Steel Dynamics steel mill was a driving force for the additions. The port has seen an increased amount of steel coils coming in by rail from the mill and in the offloading of scrap from barges.
According to Rushing, the port has seen a 300 percent increase in business over the last 10 years.
“We are busting at the seams as far as business here,” Rushing said.
“We just think this is a really good thing for the port. We think this is good for the industries that it supports,” Lowndes County Board of Supervisors president Trip Hairston said. Supervisors approved both grant applications.
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