Next year, Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. could be serving several new industrial plants.
Patriot Renewable Fuels L.L.C. plans to build a more than $130 million ethanol plant along the 500-mile regional’s line in Annawan, Ill. The facility would receive about 37 million bushels of corn, and produce 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of livestock feed annually.
Patriot expects to begin construction in the third quarter and complete the facility in late 2007. Iowa Interstate would provide the shipper access to all the U.S. Class Is.
Meanwhile, Dallas County, Iowa, officials are considering whether to rezone about 250 acres of farmland near Dexter for an industrial park that would be served by the regional. On Jan. 24, the Dallas County Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on the rezoning measure.
Iowa Interstate is spending $25 million to upgrade a line that would serve the park, which could be home to a large ethanol plant. The trackwork will enable the railroad to operate trains at 40 mph and accommodate 286,000-pound cars.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News
