State announces $19M for construction of inland port at DeWitt railyard

DeWITT, N.Y. — New York on Tuesday announced $19 million for construction of an inland port at the CSX rail-freight terminal in the town of DeWitt.

The port will enable movement of containerized freight between the Port of New York and New Jersey and the existing CSX rail yard in DeWitt, the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a release.

The new “infrastructure investment” in Central New York will “facilitate the efficient and cost-effective” movement of containerized freight by rail once it reaches the shore —as opposed to large trucks, the state DOT contended. The reduced shipping costs and environmental benefits of transportation by rail will make regional exports such as agricultural products, metals and wood to Asia and other international destinations “more competitive,” it noted.

As part of the state’s investment in the Central New York region, it will assist CSX with the “realignment and modernization” of the existing rail yard in DeWitt to handle stacked, non-wheeled international shipping containers.

The work will include installing new crane equipment and lifts, upgrading security and deploying technology “enhancements” to allow for international import/export services, and constructing new areas at the railyard required for the stacking and handling of shipping containers.

In addition to leveraging privately-funded complementary improvements made along the rail corridor serving the region, the project will reduce the transportation costs of moving freight between the Port of New York and New Jersey and Central New York “by as much as $500 per container,” per the release.

When fully operational, this new intermodal import-export service will handle about 30,000 containers annually.

Funding made available for this project is part of a $65 million initiative that Gov. Andrew Cuomo established to “renew and modernize” Upstate port and rail-hub infrastructure. The state has previously awarded $15 million to the Port of Albany and $10 million to the Port of Ogdensburg as part of the same initiative, the DOT said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com