Maritime Administration awards Ports of Indiana $11.2M for rail yard, transload facility

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded the Ports of Indiana an $11.2 million federal grant to help fund the construction of a $16 million rail yard and transload facility at the Mount Vernon port.

The funding was among 31 Port Infrastructure Development Program grants awarded by MARAD across 15 states and one territory, totaling nearly $580 million.

“This is the largest federal grant in Ports of Indiana history, and it will have far-reaching impacts throughout the Southwest Indiana economy,” said Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock in a press release.

Once completed, the transload facility and rail yard could double the Mount Vernon port’s rail capacity, port officials said. Currently, the port handles 7 million tons of cargo and 40,000 rail cars.

The facility and rail yard will be located on 30 acres along State Road 62 within the Mount Vernon port footprint in southwest Indiana. It will include 13,000 feet of rail-car switching track, 7,000 feet of track to facilitate cargo transfers, five new rail-truck transload zones and a cargo storage yard. 

The grant funding also will be used to purchase a new truck scale and scale house, truck marshaling areas, and lighting and security improvements for the transload operations, port officials said.