Etowah County industrial site could be connected to Port of Mobile rail project - Gadsden

A major industrial site in Etowah County could be connected to a major Port of Mobile rail project.

Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday said the Norfolk Southern Railroad, using its funds and federal state money, would invest in $231.6 million of rail improvements from Mobile through Jefferson and Shelby counties. The project, known as the A-USA Corridor, is expected to connect to the Little Canoe Creek, a 1,000-acre site off Interstate 59 in Etowah County targeted for industrial development.

The corridor will aim to improve the movement of goods out of the state port, which has seen an uptick in imports amid high demand for goods.

“Creating good port access to central Alabama is a key part of this initiative, and it can provide options for freight containers to reach new destinations inland, which our country has struggled with during the supply chain crisis,” Ivey said in a statement. “I am proud our state is looking ahead and investing in the Alabama-USA Corridor and the future jobs and economic opportunity it will bring.”

Connor Spielmaker, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, wrote in an email Tuesday that the company has begun “peripheral” work on the project, with the start of a $71.6 million Phase I project — linking the Port with the McCalla Intermodal Facility in Birmingham — in 2023.

“The corridor project does a number of things — the primary aspect of Phase I is improvements that would allow for double-stacked intermodal trains to and from the Port,” Spielmaker wrote. “In addition, there will be siding extensions, signal improvements, and expansion of the McCalla Yard to support the growth occurring both new and expanded along this corridor.”