Ports of Indiana breaks ground on $1.3M Jeffersonville project
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The Ports of Indiana has broken ground on a $1.3 million project at the Jeffersonville port it says will increase barge shipments of steel coils and create public benefits for the community.
The project is being supported by a Marine Highway grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Plans call for the construction of a 1.2-acre storage area and the purchase of a 70,000-pound capacity forklift. The port authority said the project will allow for more shipments to be transported by barge on the Ohio River, eliminating the need for 2,000 long-haul truck trips annually.
The Jeffersonville port houses a campus of metal processors that currently handle more than 2 million tons of steel shipments via rail, truck and barge. The Ports of Indiana said the project will reduce the overall carbon footprint and public impacts of the shipments by removing the need for the long-haul trucks.
“This project is a ‘win-win-win’ for our customers, the community, and our port” Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock said in a news release. “We are pleased to work with Nucor, Voss Clark, Mill Steel and our many industry partners to develop a project that creates significant economic value for port companies as well as environmental and public benefits for the local community.”
Construction is expected to be complete in mid-May.
The Jeffersonville port received the $550,000 Marine Highway grant in 2020 to develop a barge shuttle for Nucor Corp. to move steel from Ghent, Kentucky to the port. The authority did not specify the amount of the grant.
“Given the high level of manufacturing and industrial production taking place in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, our Jeffersonville port is well positioned to provide critical logistics connections for delivering raw materials or finished products,” said Port Director George Ott. “The Marine Highway program highlights the benefits of shipping by river barge and provides critical resources that allow ports to increase the positive contributions barge transportation provides for business and the environment.”
Last month, the Ports of Indiana announced that 12.6 million tons of cargo made it through the state’s three ports in 2023, marking the second-highest total in the port authority’s history.