Port of Toledo develops rail-served terminal

Port of Toledo develops rail-served terminal    The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority on Monday dedicated a rail line as part of a large waterfront redevelopment plan to create a large terminal for cargo vessels hauling liquid and dry bulk commodities and raw materials for manufacturing.
   The Port of Toledo is located on the mouth of the Maumee River at the west end of Lake Erie and is connected to the rest of the world by the St. Lawrence Seaway system.
   The Ironville Terminal is an $18 million project being developed in three phases on land previously used as an oil refinery. The port authority acquired the 180-acre remediated site in 2008 from Chevron for $3.4 million, making the Port of Toledo the largest seaport on the Great Lakes in terms of land mass. It leased the property to Midwest Terminals of Toledo, which is investing $5 million of its own money as part of the public-private partnership.
   Midwest Terminals operates two other terminals at the Port of Toledo, which handles more than 12 million tons of cargo and 700 vessel calls per year.
   The project's first phase involves installing a 7,200-foot rail line and eight switches with capacity for 100 rail cars to serve the terminal and connect to the nearby Norfolk Southern rail line. Construction was made possible by a $5 million grant from an Ohio program created to help offset costs for speculative commercial and industrial development that is expected to attract investment and jobs. The loop rail line is to be installed by the end of the year or early 2012, according to the port authority.
   Under the second phase, improvements will be made to the river channel and shoreline in preparation for building a dock to accommodate barges, lake carriers and ocean vessels. About 65,000 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged to provide access to the dock and 19 acres will be paved for storage.
   Third phase plans include installing a multimodal conveyor and material transfer system rapid loading and unloading of dry bulk material. Ships with equipment to self-unload will discharge material into a 500-cubic yard hopper, which would feed the conveyor system to load rail cars.
   The port authority and Midwest Terminals plan to make the remaining 110 acres of property available for manufacturing businesses that would benefit from direct access to the port for receiving or shipping materials and goods.
   The port authority has also received a $7.4 million grant from an Ohio economic stimulus program targeted at the logistics sector and has applied to the U.S. Commerce Department for a $3.1 million economic development grant to support the project.
   Officials say the waterfront development should be completed by 2014. ' Eric Kulisch