Grants finalized for NS Crescent Corridor
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week that construction can begin on two intermodal freight terminals in Memphis and Birmingham, due to a signed grant agreement with the Alabama and Tennessee departments of transportation for $105 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
The facilities are a key part of an effort to increase capacity along Norfolk Southern’s 2,500-mile Crescent Corridor from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic and reduce traffic on interstate highways.
Alabama will use its half the grant — $52.5 million — to build the 261-acre Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility near McCalla, about 20 miles southwest of Birmingham. Total cost of the project is $97.5 million, with Norfolk Southern and other sources providing remaining funds.
Tennessee will use its $52.5 million to build the 380-acre Memphis Regional Intermodal Facility immediately west of Rossville, about 27 miles east of downtown Memphis. Likewise, the remainder of the $105.1 million project will come from Norfolk Southern and other sources.