Posted on July 16, 2020
COLUMBIA — The Heartland Port Authority of Central Missouri has been given 116 acres to develop a port on the Missouri River in Jefferson City.
In a Tuesday press conference, the Heartland Port Authority of Central Missouri announced the signage of House Bill 1330 by Governor Mike Parson which gives the port authority 116 acres to develop a port on the Missouri River in Jefferson City.
“It gave us the ability to go our next steps which is develop the property adjacent to the port and allow it to hopefully generate commerce,” Heartland Port Authority Chairman Rick Mihalevich said. “It’s all about on and off ramps like we have on the interstate highways. This is our on and off ramp to this river.”
The development of a port on the Missouri River in Jefferson City has been years in the making. The Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson City, Callaway County and Cole County funded a Feasibility Study in 2017 to assess the feasibility of a Multimodal Port Facility on the Missouri River in Central Missouri and help economic development in the region.
“I think right now we understand the crowded highways,” Mihalevich said. “We understand the cost of transportation and we understand the economics that this resource offers us. One barge can do 72 truck loads and take that off the highway so we know that the commerce is there, we know that the economics are there. We just got to build the port.”
Heartland Port Authority is Missouri’s 15th Port Authority and will serve the Central Missouri region.
The 116-acre site off No More Victims Road between Ike Skelton Training Facility and Algoa Correctional Facility offers a handful of opportunities according to the Port Authority.
“It’s going to help us move product up and down our rivers – The Mississippi and the Missouri – more economically, quicker, cheaper,” Missouri State Representative Beck Ruth said at the press conference.
The Port Authority included these findings in an executive summary of the project:
- Strong private sector interest including funding partners
- Strong existing manufacturing industry in the region
- National truck driver shortage
- A small share of commodity movement by rail and water compared to truck-presents an opportunity for water Modes
The executive summary estimates the cost of the port to be $75 million with $310 million in total benefits. The ports could create as many as 5,740 jobs.
“As you look down these railroad tracks right now, you’ll see they’re full of containers,” Mihalevich said. “One day those could be coming up and down this river and that’s our goal is to be a port of choice for the port of New Orleans.”
According to the Port Authority, the top commodities being moved include non-metal mineral products, cereal grains, coal, other foodstuffs, other ag products, fertilizers, basic chemicals, and animal feed.
Source: krcgtv
