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The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) last week approved a $1 million loan to help Greater Ohio Ethanol L.L.C. fund the construction of a 6,300-foot rail spur at an ethanol plant the company is building in Lima.

The spur at the $145 million, 54 million-gallon-capacity plant will connect to a line operated by the Indiana & Ohio Railway Co., which is owned by RailAmerica Inc. Greater Ohio Ethanol expects to complete the plant in fall.

Meanwhile, ORDC commissioners continued to discuss the agency’s ongoing search for a new executive director. ORDC remains in negotiations with Mike Bradley, who currently serves as director of project planning for the Central Ohio Transit Authority. The commission hasn’t had a permanent executive director since James Seney stepped down from the post in September 2006.

An independent agency within the Ohio Department of Transportation, ORDC oversees freight and passenger railroad issues, grade crossing safety, and rail travel and tourism.