The Little River County Quorum Court and Ashdown officials have joined forces to attract industry through an intermodal transportation center, Little River County Judge Mike Cranford said.
Intermodal transportation means carrying products by road, rail and waterway.
The Quorum Court and Ashdown City Council recently agreed to seek a study to determine the shipping needs of regional industries.
"People who don't think outside the box will always be confined to the box. If you always do what you've always done, you always get what you always got. We're trying something new," Cranford said.
A 2008 study shows the Texarkana region can be a mid-America industrial transportation hub, Cranford said. The region has Interstates 30 and 49 and Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and Kiamichi railroads.
"We're certainly a part of the Texarkana region," Cranford said.
He discussed future needs with Domtar Paper officials in Ashdown, and he said transportation improvements were mentioned.
"We think we have a great opportunity to put us in a leadership position for transportation," he said.
After listening to industry officials discuss transportation problems, the county judge said the region could improve shipping costs and time.
"Ships are waiting in the Pacific to unload cargo in Long Beach, Calif., and then ship containers east by rail or trucks," Cranford said.
When the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed, supertankers from the Pacific Ocean will be able to haul more product to New Orleans, Houston and other ports along the Gulf Coast. Those containers are shipped to Dallas, but the volume is so great, time is lost in routing products to their final destination, Cranford said.
"The containers go to Dallas and die. There is no telling when you will get it," he said.
The county judge said statistics show that the intermodal method of freight transport is growing faster than any other. Combining the best abilities of each mode, intermodal transportation looks to provide "cost-effective service to shippers" through hubs that coordinate "each piece of the move, from pickup to drop-off," he said.
"Little River County and Ashdown city officials, as partners, are exploring this opportunity to be proactive in serving industries in the area that have indicated there might be a future interest and need for an intermodal facility. A key objective of the study will be to determine industries in the region that could benefit from such a facility. The strategic location of the county and city with excellent highway and rail access, along with the interest level officials have encountered, led the partners to seek approval for a feasibility study," Cranford said.
"We feel that beginning the process now is well-advised," he added. "Certain steps are necessary to put all the pieces in place, with the approval from the Quorum Court and City Council being the first."
Commissioning the study to qualify the prospective sites from an environmental and transportation standpoint will begin immediately after funds to complete the study are procured. Local, state and federal funds are being sought for the first phase, Cranford said.
Ashdown Mayor James Sutton and the City Council support the project. An intermodal transportation center is a good opportunity for the city and county to create jobs and economic development, Sutton said.
The county judge said the first step is getting the Arkansas Economic Development Commission involved.
The study, construction and operation of the proposed facility will not raise sales taxes or property taxes for residents "in any fashion," according to the joint statement.
"Although this project is in its infancy, it is important to move swiftly and deliberately to help shippers in the Ark-La-Tex remain competitive," Cranford said.
State Desk on 09/29/2015