Florida East Coast posts progress on new container facility at Port Everglades

Construction is moving swiftly on a $53 million intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) that Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) expects to open by mid-2014, Port Everglades officials announced late last week.

Construction began in January on the 42.5-acre facility, which will replace FEC's 12-acre intermodal yard in Fort Lauderdale that's located two miles from the Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale port. The ICTF will feature a marshaling area, rubber-tire gantry cranes, separate entrance gates to handle domestic and international containers simultaneously, and six working tracks totaling about 18,000 linear feet.

"The ICTF allows us to build 9,000-foot unit trains within the facility without blocking any streets," said FEC President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Hertwig in a press release. "The trains will then go to places such as Atlanta and Charlotte in two days, or Nashville and Memphis in three days. FEC's connections to CSX and NS allow for rail service to 70 percent of the U.S. population within four days."

The port contributed land valued at $19 million for the ICTF. Construction costs will be covered by $18 million in Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grants, $30 million from a state infrastructure bank loan and $5 million from FEC.

The ICTF will help spur additional business growth, said Steven Cernak, the port's chief executive and director.

"Our natural trade routes are North-South, where we are seeing tremendous growth in South America and Central America. With the expansion of the Panama Canal, Port Everglades will have the potential to see the North-South trade lanes intersect with the East-West trade routes," he said.

The ICTF also is expected to reduce congestion on interstates and local roads because loading and offloading cargo will be performed within the port instead of at offsite facilities. As a result, air emissions will be reduced by diverting an estimated 180,000 trucks from roadways by 2029, port officials said.

The first step toward building the ICTF took place in July 2011, when FDOT broke ground for the Eller Drive Overpass that will enable trains to access the port at ground level. The $42.5 million overpass is scheduled for completion by late 2014.