More than $2 million in Mississippi Department of Transportation funding is heading to the Lowndes County Port and the Golden Triangle Regional Airport for long-term projects.
The port was awarded $1.5 million and GTRA about $625,000 from MDOT’s Strategic Multi-Modal Investments Program grant funds.
MDOT puts about $30 million into a pot to be divided between rail, port and airport facilities across the state. The port and GTRA are the only entities in the Golden Triangle that received awards.
Lowndes County Port Director Will Sanders told The Dispatch the money would go toward the first phase of a master plan to improve the port’s east bank and make it more marketable for future clients.
The port is planning a $4.4 million, 6,700-linear-foot rail expansion into the southern part of its property. The $1.5 million from the state will provide the lion’s share of the $2 million price tag for the first phase.
Sanders said he will seek the additional $500,000 from other grants for the first phase. He did not specify plans for funding the second phase.
“I didn’t want to ask for the whole $4 million when there was only about $10 million available for ports,” Sanders said.
The rail spur, once completed, will come in on the north side of the property and, eventually, stretch all the way down to the southern end of the island.
“The rail spur that we have now comes in and goes through the middle of (Logistic Services Incorporated’s) building,” Sanders said. “When it gets past their building, there are three rail tracks branching off.”
LSI performs stevedore services for the port.
The planned new track will be a dedicated rail spur to some currently empty real estate, Sanders said.
“This spur will go around (the LSI building) and tie in the existing rail to the end of the island, where the old KiOR site is,” Sanders said.
KiOR is a failed biofuel plant. It built a $230 million plant on the island to purportedly convert wood chips to biofuel. The project never came to fruition and the company declared bankruptcy in 2015.
Eventually the port intends to build several warehouses near the old Kior site, Sanders said.
“That’s our dream,” Sanders said. “Our hopes are to start building buildings out there and people can use the warehouse space and the rail.”
Sanders said the port is working to make itself more attractive for potential future projects.
“We want to make that area more marketable to attract other potential customers,” Sanders said.
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston told The Dispatch Friday afternoon he appreciated the state’s generosity.
“We are thankful the state had more money available this year than they have in the past,” Hairston said. “In the past we’d get $100,000 here and $100,000 there, that sort of thing. This time it was a significant amount, and it’s clear the port was a pretty high priority.”
The expansion of the rail line will be critical for the port, Hairston said.
“Obviously having more rail line provides a lot more ability than what we have currently,” Hairston said.
Airport terminal expansion underway
GTRA also got about $625,000 for its planned terminal expansion.
The airport is building a new terminal, located on the second floor of the current structure. It will include a larger waiting area for passengers, as well as a jet bridge to connect directly to the aircraft.
As it stands, passengers have to walk outside of the terminal to board an airplane.
The approximately $625,000 will be used as matching funds for approximately $11.3 million in Federal Aviation Administration funding GTRA has already received, Executive Director Matt Dowell told The Dispatch.
The total project cost is around $12 million.
Construction is underway, Dowell said.
“We’ve moved everybody to a temporary area,” Dowell said. “The next phase is demolition work and then they’ll start erecting steel and building out the structure.”
Dowell said he anticipates work being finished in 2025.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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