FORT SMITH -- City directors have decided to support an effort to gauge interest in developing an intermodal port on the Arkansas River in Crawford County.
The directors voted unanimously earlier this week to chip in $40,000 toward hiring a Virginia consultant who has proposed drawing up a request for expression of interest and circulating it throughout the port development industry to attract companies to invest in developing a rail, truck and water port on the river.
Fort Smith is one of five entities that belong to the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority that has been asked to help pay the $200,500 fee to Vickerman & Associates to analyze the market for a port, put together a proposal, circulate it and recommend candidates to the authority.
The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority had already voted to add its $40,000 share to the project. The other entities -- the city of Van Buren, and the Sebastian and Crawford county quorum courts -- are expected to consider making their contributions in their respective meetings later this month.
In presentations made to the different entities last week, port planner and designer John Vickerman said the authority had the opportunity to develop not only railroad infrastructure and track transfers but to integrate a new inland port on as much as 6,000 acres along the river east of Van Buren.
Vickerman said that over the nine months that it will take to do the study, his job would be to gather data, do a market assessment, devise a terminal development plan and send out the request to gauge interest. He said he also would meet with companies responding to the requests and make recommendations to the intermodal authority.
State Desk on 02/10/2017