Editor’s note: Do you want answers to questions about the Golden Triangle? Each week, Dispatch reporters set out to explain or update a timely, practical issue. Email your question to [email protected].
If you’ve lived in Columbus or Lowndes County in roughly the last decade, you’ve potentially heard the recurring banging that seems to echo from the Island throughout the day.
While the sound is clear, its origins and purpose are not always known by those who hear it.
Where’s the noise coming from? Is it projected to stop anytime soon?
What is that noise?
Will Sanders, director for Lowndes County Port Authority, said the noise residents are often hearing is the sound of scrap metal destined for the Steel Dynamics Inc. mill on Airline Road.
The scrap metal, which is brought on barges to the West Bank Port on Old Macon Road, is dropped into hoppers that funnel the metal into trucks to then be driven roughly 11 miles west to SDI.
The port authority has had an agreement with the company since its Lowndes County facility opened in 2005, allowing SDI to lease the port to receive and unload scrap metal for steel coil production, Sanders said.
SDI subleases to Cooper Marine, which operates the vessels carrying the materials and handles the unloading of the incoming scrap metal. Cooper Marine also handles the day-to-day logistics of deliveries.
As part of that agreement, SDI is allowed to unload scrap metal at any hour of the day, but as part of an informal agreement with the port authority, Sanders said the company tries to limit unloading and its noise to between dawn and dusk.
“There’s nothing in the contract that limits them to what time that they can unload scrap,” Sanders said. “… If they wanted to … they could be unloading 24/7 while (residents are) trying to sleep. The steel mill is the largest employer in the county. They provide a lot of jobs for everybody. … We want to be good neighbors of course to anybody, but that is the sound of dollar bills coming into Lowndes County every day.”
What is that metal used for?
Each year between 500,000 and 700,000 tons of scrap metal is unloaded at the dock and taken to the steel mill, Sanders said.
That scrap metal is processed through the site’s electric arc furnaces and converted into steel, which is then sold to manufacturers or used for the company’s own products, SDI’s website said. The Columbus site is capable of turning the scrap metal into roughly 3.4 million tons of hot-rolled steel sheets a year.
Trip Hairston, president of the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, said he’s heard some residents voice concerns in the past over crashing sounds happening at inopportune moments, but those have lessened over the years.
“I do know that there are times … you’re having a funeral at Friendship Cemetery that sometimes people can be offended at how loud that noise is, especially on a somber occasion,” Hairston said. “I understand that, but over time people don’t hear it as loudly or don’t recognize it as much because it does happen a fair amount throughout the day.”
Hairston said SDI’s production brings significant economic impact to the area, a point he said the board tries to emphasize when questions or concerns arise about the noise coming from the port.
“From an economic development standpoint, we like to see activity at the West (Bank) Port, because that means the steel mill is doing well,” Hairston said. “… When you hear that (metal) being dropped, that (is creating) jobs. That’s the drivers of the trucks, that’s a lot of the economic activity that is generated from increased port usage.”
That economic impact – and potentially the noise – could soon see an increase. SDI aims to increase offloading to between 800,000 and more than 1 million tons of scrap metal annually after the completion of the port’s rail line project.
What about the rail project?
There is a $14.1 million project in the works at the West Bank Port to construct a rail spur and 10,000 linear feet of rail line, which will connect to an existing line to take metal from the port to the mill.
Once connected, scrap metal can be carried by 35 rail cars from the dock to the mill and reduce truck traffic.
The project is funded by a $6.1 million grant the LCPA received from the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program and an additional $8 million from SDI.
Sanders said construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, with the project projected to be completed by the end of 2027. The hope, he said, is that using railcars could reduce some of the offloading noise because the crane can drop the scrap directly into the cars rather than funneling through a hopper.
“They might could load straight into (the) rail cars, which will be not as far of a drop,” Sanders said. “And maybe they can put their grabber down inside that rail car, and then do what’s called a soft drop and then drop it there. Who knows? It’s something we can look into.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
