The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) is expanding its rail cargo capacity to move containers across the state and into the Midwest with greater speed and efficiency.
“Construction is moving along well. With another six weeks of earthwork, the rail yard grade will be met, allowing for additional engineering to advance,” says GPA general manager of inland operations Wesley Barrell. “We are working closely with Norfolk Southern on tying our infrastructure into their existing track.”
Key takeaways:
- When complete, the 104-acre site will feature six tracks for a total of 18,000 feet.
- The facility will create 20 direct local jobs.
- The inland port will link Northeast Georgia with the Port of Savannah’s 36 global container ship services that call each week.
- Norfolk Southern Railroad will provide five-day-a-week service to the Blue Ridge Connector, which will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- GPA will provide expedited service from Savannah to the Blue Ridge Connector with third-day availability.
- Slated to open in 2026, the $127 million facility will serve an existing customer base, which also includes producers of heavy equipment and forest products.
- Customers will no longer need to truck containers through Hall County to the Port of Savannah because shorter routes to the inland port will become possible. Additionally, every container moved by rail means fewer trucks on state highways moving through the Atlanta area. The Blue Ridge Connector will have an annual capacity of 200,000 containers.
“We will offer refrigerated cargo by rail, with this unique transit from the Blue Ridge Connector to Savannah,” Barrell says. “There are five cold storage freezers within five miles of our location, and more than 50 users of those cold storage facilities. We look to provide services to this customer base. As shown by the impact of our first inland terminal, the Appalachian Regional Port, the BRC will also act an economic catalyst for Northeast Georgia, bringing jobs and opportunity. Presently, nearly 10,000 Hall County jobs are in industries that rely on Georgia Ports.”
