California port OKs UP rail-welding facility; Florida port advances CSX-served ICTF

The Port of Stockton, Calif., on Tuesday approved Union Pacific Railroad's plan to build an $18 million rail-welding facility.

The facility will feature about 17,000 feet of track, a rail storage yard, welding and inspection building, and gantry crane. Steel rail in 480-foot lengths will be shipped to the facility from Japan.

Workers at the facility will weld the lengths into quarter-mile-long sections of continuous-welded rail.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) has formally awarded Dana B. Keynon Co. a contract to design and build an intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) at Dames Point at the Port of Jacksonville, Fla.

To be completed in 2015, the ICTF will facilitate the transfer of containers between vessels and trains, and offer direct access to a CSX Transportation line and Interstates 95, 295 and 10.

“The construction of an ICTF is an absolute requirement for our port to remain competitive and to ensure we are offering the best services to our customers,” said JAXPORT Chief Executive Officer Brian Taylor.

The authority also issued a request for proposals seeking a qualified firm to serve as a rail yard operator that will be responsible for the ICTF's management, maintenance and operations.