This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
1/20/2022
The Port of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, has obtained a $15 million state grant to fund carbon negative site improvements.
The grant is from the Louisiana Port Construction and Development Priority Program, which is administered by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), port officials said in a press release.
The port is the site of Strategic Biofuels LLC's Louisiana Green Fuels project (LGF), announced in April 2021. Strategic develops negative carbon footprint renewable fuels plants.
Specifically, the grant will fund three areas of site improvements:• Riverton Camp Road upgrade. Upgrading the current site access road to heavy industrial grade is an early requirement as it will provide immediate plant construction site entry. This work is being designed by the port’s engineering firm Bryant Hammett & Associates, who are based in Ferriday, Louisiana. Construction is expected to begin in mid-summer.• rail spur construction. A 37-car rail spur will be constructed to allow access to a Union Pacific Railroad mainline that borders the port site. Engineering design, which is funded by LGF, has been completed by Hatch and construction is expected to begin in 2023.• rail overpass construction. In conjunction with LGF and DOTD, the port has developed a traffic pattern to ensure safe and efficient access for forestry transport trucks to and from the future plant site. The design features a new rail overpass and a U.S. Highway 165 underpass using the existing highway rail overpass along with a traffic circle, eliminating all truck left turns, grade crossings and stop signs. Construction of the overpass is expected to begin in 2023.
"The early upgrading of Riverton Camp Road coming this summer provides strong support for LGF’s aggressive construction schedule," said Strategic Biofuels Chief Operating Officer Bob Meredith. “It allows us to begin actual plant construction as soon as the full project funding is secured, and we expect that to be in early 2023. The port has also been a key contributor in our efforts with DOTD and Union Pacific Railroad.”