Montgomery Mayor: New Alabama State Port Authority project is a “game changer”

The Alabama State Port Authority’s plan to build a container facility in Montgomery was called a “game-changer” by Capital City Mayor Steven Reed.

Last week, the Port Authority’s board of directors authorized the purchase of 272 acres of land for over $2 million in west Montgomery in order to construct an inland container intermodal transfer (ICTF) facility—a hub for containers traveling by rail.  

Vital Link

A vital piece of the state of Alabama’s transportation puzzle, the facility will link the port in Mobile to the facility in Montgomery, giving shippers the option to send and receive containers.

According to local officials, the new facility will generate 2,618 direct and indirect jobs, $340 million in business revenues and over $14.2 million in state and local taxes. 

Transformational Project

“This is really a major project for us,” said Mayor Reed at a press conference in Montgomery. “It is significant because of what it will do to transform this economy not only in the city of Montgomery and our county, but also in this region, the Black Belt and Central Alabama, combined. When you have a project of this magnitude, we believe it is a game changer. We think it is a transformational project that allows us to be a global gateway for commerce, cargo logistics, digital infrastructure, as well as our automotive industry.”

Phase I of the facility could take up to two years and cost $54 million to construct. The project connects inland Alabama shippers to the seaport’s intermodal container transfer facility at Mobile, which is located adjacent to the marine terminal and is accessible to five national Class 1 railroads. 

Recent Investments

The Alabama and the Montgomery region has recently seen a number of transportation and distribution investments. 

CSX is currently investing $6 million into rail spur infrastructure to accommodate large scale, advanced manufacturers at the South Alabama Mega Site. In Montgomery, economic development officials recently announced Amazon’s 650,000 square foot inbound cross dock distribution center and Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s (HMMA) recently completed expansion to support the addition of its fourth and fifth car models, the Tucson and Santa Cruz. The project is aimed at serving these new investments as well as other regional shippers.

“Alabama’s economy is rebounding stronger than ever, and our Port is doing record business, so, I am thrilled to see us working to connect areas like Montgomery with our gateway to the world,” said Governor Kay Ivey.

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