Georgia Ports Authority approves ICTF extension at Savannah

The changes will allow locomotives to pull through the rail yard, rather than having to back train cars into the facility. Layout of the rail spur tracks has been coordinated with construction of an overpass leading into the main gate at the Garden City terminal. Completion of the ICTF and overpass projects will allow the unimpeded flow of both trucks and rail to and from the terminal.

The board’s approval followed the GPA reporting a 14% jump in intermodal container moves – to 109,036 in the first four months of FY 2011-2012 from 96,034 a year ago. In August, rail transfers at Savannah reached a record monthly high of 28,610. The GPA’s fiscal year begins July 1.

The GPA container traffic data for October show imports down 9.4%, exports up 3.5% and a 6.7% drop in total volume compared to October 2010. The Savannah and Brunswick terminals together handled 2.2m tons of freight during October; a 6.8% decrease from October 2010 which the GPA said “was primarily due to an early retail peak season and ongoing softness in the dry bulk cargo sector.”