The Alabama Port Authority, in partnership with CSX Transportation, broke ground on what Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called a “historic investment in Alabama’s infrastructure” — a container facility that is projected to enhance freight mobility between central and south Alabama and stimulate the economy statewide.
The Montgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility will offer “seamless” rail and truck connectivity between central Alabama and the already existing Port of Mobile. The site, which is near Interstate 85 and U.S. Highway 31, sits on 272 acres, and the completed project will offer 25,016 feet of track and a throughput capacity of 60,000 TEU per year – effectively 30,000 shipping containers.
“This really opens up global markets in a way that is going to be unheralded for our state,” said John Driscoll, director of the Alabama Port Authority. “The Montgomery ICTF is a critical piece of infrastructure to leverage our growth statewide and build on an ongoing economic success that is happening across Alabama.”
The biggest perk of the new facility is efficiency of transport and the competitive edge it gives Alabama in the shipping industry.
“Alabama’s port moves cargo faster and at a better overall cost than anywhere else in America,” Ivey said. “In other parts of the country, like California, it can take up to two or three hours to move a container, but not here. In Mobile, the average is 45 minutes or less. It’s no wonder more and more businesses are choosing to ship their goods in and out of Mobile. Having the transfer facility here will only front with that goal.”
When the project was announced in 2022, city officials and the Alabama Port Authority said the venture would generate 2,618 jobs, $340 million in business revenues, and $14.2 million in state and local taxes. Since the announcement of the project, the surrounding area of the site has accrued more than $3 billion in economic development investments from private companies, with Ivey saying that the hope is to continually attract more businesses to move in around the facility with the convenience of proximity to the shipping infrastructure.
The connectivity the Montgomery ICTF will provide won’t just bolster efficiency in transporting cargo. It will be “good for Alabama workers, not just in Montgomery and Mobile, but in all counties in our beautiful state,” in the words of Driscoll.
“The Port of Mobile is the country’s most connected port in the nation, and today’s groundbreaking is a good reason why I like to call it the Port of Alabama,” Ivey said. “With this investment into Alabama’s efficiency, the port is going to continue its expansive growth. … This growth positions the state of Alabama to be a leader in global shipping and logistics, and that’s good for everyone in Alabama. It means more jobs, more opportunities for Alabama, from the port south to Huntsville up north, and everywhere in between.”
Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives Nathaniel Ledbetter said that, even in DeKalb County, one of the farthest counties north of Mobile, almost 3,000 jobs are tied to the port, as well as the economy of the county seeing a $187 million impact from the port’s operations.
Ledbetter said that the state of Alabama has “just begun” with its potential in the shipping industry with the Port of Mobile. “There’s no question Alabama’s on the move in a way that we’ve never seen before, and we’ll continue to do so,” Ledbetter said.
The Montgomery ICTF, which is funded through federal appropriations secured by former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, is expected to be operational by 2027 and will look similar to the Mobile ICTF upon completion.
Sarah Clifton covers business for the Montgomery Advertiser. You can reach her at sclifton@montgome.gannett.com or follow her on X @sarahgclifton.