(The following story by Terry L. Jones appeared on the Hattiesburg American website on February 18, 2010.)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Gov. Haley Barbour’s visionary plan to create a transportation hub near the Palmers Crossing area received a boost Wednesday with a $20 million federal grant.
The U.S. Department of Transportation grant is going to partly fund improvements along 67.5 miles of Kansas City Southern Railroad track between the Port of Gulfport and north to Hattiesburg, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Last month, Barbour announced that the Hub City would play an integral role in the $1 billion expansion to the Port of Gulfport, which the state is scrambling to facilitate because of the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal. The governor has said the new hub in the Palmers Crossing area would help handle the increased container traffic.
That expansion, which could be complete in 2014, will create many new opportunities for the port in Gulfport, which could handle a large portion of container traffic, much of which is currently sent to the West Coast, and then shipped by rail to the rest of the country.
“I personally thank Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the Obama Administration for giving favorable consideration to and recognizing the importance of the Gulf ports,” Barbour said in Wednesday’s release. “Once the Panama Canal’s expansion is completed and open to shipping, our Gulf ports will fill a vital need if we have sufficient intermodal surface transportation.
“This grant is a big step in that direction.”
According to Don Allee, executive director of the Mississippi State Port Authority, work on securing the grant began during the last quarter of 2009 through joint efforts from KCS Railroad.
“If you examine the quality of track between here and Hattiesburg, it could definitely use improvements,” Allee said.
In Hattiesburg, the KCS rail line connects with the Norfolk Southern line that extends into the Northeast region of the country. KCS Hattiesburg lines also connect to the Canadian National line that continues into Chicago and Canada.
“There are places on that body of track where you can’t exceed speeds, safely, above 10 mph,” Allee said. “Clearly, 10 mph is limiting our productiveness.”
Allee said the state wants to make improvements that will allow cargo loads using the existing lines to climb up to 49 mph double stack standards.
On the surface, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree said the plans sound like something the city could wrap it arms around and support, but there are still unanswered questions he harbors about the state’s intentions.
“What’s the timeline for the Port of Gulfport to be expanded?” DuPree said. “What’s the timeline for the (rail line) upgrade? There needs to be more information than just these tidbits leaked out of the governor’s office.”
DuPree said officials in his administration have contacted Allee and arranged for him to visit Hattiesburg in April to inform city officials – and the community – about the expansion and all projects associated with it.
“A lot of people were concerned early on because they thought a plan was already out there, but that’s not the case,” Allee said. “We’re just in the planning and conceptual phase right now. As it unfolds, Hattiesburg will definitely be involved in the planning.”