Infrastructure work under way for Illinois port; distribution center on way at California port

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, other state officials and local leaders on Aug. 14 broke ground on a $7 million infrastructure project for the future Port of East St. Louis, Ill.

The project calls for building an on-site road, rail lines and utilities to create access to the inland port via train, truck and barge. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provided $5 million for the project, while the port's developers contributed $1.25 million. Slay Industries/Kinder Morgan will provide $2 million for the private property portion of the road.

"It's all about location in the shipping industry, and East St. Louis is ideally situated to ship and receive goods by truck, rail or river," said Quinn in a press release. "The Port of East St. Louis will be a major economic driver for the Metro East region."

The 200-acre port will link the Midwest to world markets through waterway, highway and rail connections, according to state officials. The port will be located less than a mile from the Poplar Street River Bridge, and will have access to several Class Is and unit-train capabilities.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Moore & Co. recently announced plans to open a new distribution center near the Port of Oakland, Calif., by early 2015.

The facility will support the distribution of the company's paint products, and eventually serve as the key distribution center for its growing network of Asia Pacific retailers and distributors, Benjamin Moore officials said in a press release.

The distribution center will be located in the newly constructed Goodman Logistics Center within the port's Oakland Airport Business Park. The port is served by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad.

"With the facility’s central location in Oakland, Benjamin Moore & Co. will have unparalleled connections to port, rail and highway systems," said Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.