Jim Fair
This overview from the J. Verne Smith Parkway shows the Inland Port with the Norfolk Southern mainline to the far left. The concrete supports the three cranes and the loading and unloading of containers. The support buildings and canopy for incoming/outgoing trucks is to the left.
Jim Fair
One of the three rubber-tiered gantry cranes shows the enormity of the structure. The operational building is in the background.
Jim Fair
The operational building, mainenance shop and truck wash are virtually completed.
Jim Fair
This is the signage that will greet all vehicles traveling north and south I-85 one mile from Brockman McClimon Road.
The South Carolina Port Authority has postponed testing with cargo at the Inland Port in Greer until Monday, Oct. 21. The announcement was made late today without comment from SCPA officials.
October 10
The South Carolina Inland Port (SCIP) in Greer will handle its first cargo Monday morning, according to officials.
“It will be a very minimal operation,” Matt Tomsic, a spokesperson with the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), said. “It’s more like testing that is being done.”
The $46.5 million, 100-acre facility was scheduled to open Sept. 1 but was slowed with 45 days of rain since construction began. The SCPA has announced limited service the remainder of this month with full-scale service in November.
The event will be historic for South Carolina and Greer. It links the Charleston port to Greer, a distance of 212 miles via rail.
State Ports Authority President and CEO Jim Newsome told the authority last month that data tests began with the computers.
Norfolk Southern completed its rail work in August, tying in 2,600-feet of tracks into its mainline. An independent contractor has just completed 5,200 feet of storage tracks.
There are 522 total slots for shipping containers and initial capacity is around 40,000 TEU’s (20-foot equivalent units) annually with the projection of 100,000 TEUs in five years.
The three rubber-tiered gantry cranes had been undergoing tests and the concrete pad crossings were laid last week.
While the operations, mechanical and truck wash buildings are virtually complete the road work continues. GSP Logistics Parkway, connecting with J. Verne Smith Parkway/State Hwy. 80, is being poured with 19-inches of concrete. The entrance and exit ramps are also ready to be poured.
Interstate signage is being constructed a mile from Exit 58 / Brockman McClimon Road. The signage will extend across I-85.
The port authority said as many as 50,000 truck trips a year will be eliminated on I-26 between Charleston and the greater Greer area. However, an undetermined increase in traffic is expected on I-85 between Greenville and Spartanburg.