ICTF work to soon begin, end at Florida ports

The Jacksonville Port Authority last week awarded a $23.5 million contract to Dana B. Kenyon Co. to design and build an intermodal container transfer facility (ICTF) at the Port of Jacksonville.

Slated to open by 2015's end, the facility will transfer containers from ships to trains. Currently, containers are carried by ships to the Dames Point or Blount Island terminals, then moved by truck to rail yards on Jacksonville's west side. After the ICTF is completed, containers will be transferred to trains on a CSX Transportation line.

The authority, which obtained two federal grants totaling $30 million for the project, expects to soon issue a request for proposals for a terminal operator that will lease and operate the ICTF.

Meanwhile, another Florida port plans to open an ICTF in summer. Port Everglades expects operations to begin at a $53 million, Florida East Coast Railway (FEC)-served intermodal facility in July.

To be located adjacent to the port's Southport container terminals in Fort Lauderdale, the 42.5-acre ICTF will facilitate containerized cargo transfers through the port to and from FEC's mainline.

The near-dock facility will replace FEC's 12-acre intermodal yard on Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale that's located about two miles from the port. Relocating intermodal cargo from the facility is projected to reduce traffic congestion on State Road 84 and other nearby highways.

FEC obtained an agreement from Broward County in 2012 to build the ICTF and operate the facility for 30 years.