Cordele to build intermodal facility with direct rail access to Savannah's Garden City Terminal

By Mary Carr Mayle

An inland port?

The very name seems an oxymoron. But a group of forward-thinking business people in Crisp County is well on its way to making the Cordele Inland Port - more than seven years in the planning - a reality.

This week, the Crisp County Cordele Industrial Development Authority and Cordele Intermodal Services Inc. announced the completion of agreements for construction and operation of the inland port 175 miles west of the Port of Savannah.

Here's how it will work:

The Cordele Inland Port will provide direct container rail service to and from the Port of Savannah via Cordele, which is located on Interstate 75 in the central part of the state.

Containers originating in an area up to 350 miles south, west and northwest of Cordele that are destined for overseas shipment will be brought by truck to Cordele for final shipment to Savannah. Containers entering the Savannah Port that are destined for this same area will be brought from Savannah to Cordele by rail and then transferred to truck for final delivery.

Overnight service for container traffic moving between the Cordele Port and Savannah will be provided by two short line rail operations, the Heart of Georgia Railroad and Georgia Central Railroad. Final movement into the Chatham Yard at the Port of Savannah will be handled by CSX Transportation.

Reducing truck traffic

Inland Ports are not a new concept, with several already in operation around the country - including the Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal, which services the Port of Norfolk.

Benefits of these facilities are realized in reduced truck traffic and environmental pollution in major port areas and a reduction of truck traffic on roads from the seaport to the inland port. The Cordele Inland Port will help to reduce congestion and mitigate pollution in Savannah while providing efficient and cost-effective service for its users.

"Cordele Intermodal Services will establish an instant market presence with our low cost structure and ancillary services that a typical truck dray company cannot match," said CIS president Jonathan Lafevers.

"We have had ongoing discussions with a select group of shippers in our target market area that will be ready to use our service from day one. We are very excited about the opportunities that this facility will bring to the surrounding area."

Twyla Tolbert agreed.

"I am very excited about this project. I see this as a great enhancement to the customer service that we provide here at our warehouse," said Tolbert, general manager of Cordele's Union Compress Co., one of the largest cotton warehouses in the Southeast.

"With Cordele becoming an extension of the Port of Savannah, this will eliminate the drayage and weight limit issues as well as truck availability for our merchants."

Opening new markets

The inland port is being built in two phases in the center of a new 800-acre industrial park being developed by Crisp County IDA directly off I-75. The first phase, currently under construction and expected to be operational before sometime in the fall, will have a capacity of 20,000 intermodal lifts - or container moves - per year, Lafevers said.

With the completion of the second phase of operations, CIS will have the capacity to handle 100,000 annual lifts as well as additional space to store intermodal containers and chassis.

Georgia Ports' executive director Curtis Foltz said he expects the inland port to open new markets for the Port of Savannah.

"By improving rail connectivity between the ports and Southwest Georgia, Cordele, Crisp County and their partners are further opening the region to trade with international markets," Foltz said.

"As GPA expands to more than double its current container capacity, connectivity with the Cordele intermodal facility will help Georgia continue to lead the region in transportation and logistics."