South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports has completed Phase I of its $30 million multi-phase Inland Port Greer expansion project. Consequently, the agency hosted an opening event recently to mark the new rail expansion for its logistics terminal. Several elected leaders and community partners were also in attendance.
According to SC Ports, the Inland Port Greer expansion was necessary to manage customer growth and supply chain challenges. Therefore, the agency decided to build an additional rail processing track, along with two rail-storage tracks within the terminal. The agency believes that the newly added 8,000-foot-long rail system will serve cargo demands through 2040.
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Plans for future Inland Port Greer expansion project
At the event, SC Ports officials said phase II of the Inland Port Greer expansion will involve expanding the container yard. In order to handle 50% more cargo, the container yard’s size will be increased by 15 acres on both the eastern and western dudes. Additionally, SC Ports plans to double the size of the existing chassis yard capacity and build several new facilities. These new facilities will be used for heavy lift maintenance and terminal operations.
SC Ports expects the entire Inland Port Greer expansion to be due for delivery by winter 2024. According to SC Ports’ general manager, Ed Stehmeyer, the terminal expansion will provide more space for containers and trains. Ultimately, he said this increased capacity would help meet the capacity needs of the port’s growing list of customers. Several of these customers include BMW, Michelin, Adidas, Eastman, First Solar, TTI Floorcare, and Visual Comfort & Co.
According to Norsfolk Southern, the expansion will help lower carbon emissions by removing over 150,000 trucks from the interstate annually. In other words, the Inland Port Greer project would eliminate the use of 5 million diesel gallons. This translates to about 50 thousand metric tons of emissions.
The project’s funding comes from SC Ports’ revenues and a portion of a $25 million Department of Transportation BUILD grant. In 2018, the South Carolina Department of Transportation was awarded the BUILD grant for its Upstate Express Corridor Program
