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President Barack Obama addressed the nation’s job and infrastructure investment goals during his State of the Union address last week, and National Gateway partners believe their intermodal corridor initiative can help fit the job-growth bill.

Fronted by CSX Corp., the National Gateway has launched projects that will support the president’s goals by expanding the flow of freight on a double-stack-cleared intermodal route between East Coast seaports and the Midwest, creating more than 50,000 new jobs over a 30-year period, gateway officials said in a prepared statement. Nearly 10,000 of the jobs are associated with the initial construction phase already under way.

“Many more long-term jobs will support and maintain the movement of double-stacked containers and intermodal transfers at new facilities, such as [CSX’s] Northwest Ohio Terminal Facility, which is scheduled to open in spring,” gateway officials said. “The project also supports the growth of new and existing businesses, which will benefit from better intermodal transportation options made possible by the National Gateway.”

The $842 million National Gateway initiative calls for establishing a double-stack corridor between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwestern markets by upgrading three rail corridors running through six states and the District of Columbia, and building and expanding intermodal terminals. The project is being funded through a public-private partnership.