CCPA Awaits State to Fund Study of Rail Spur
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio -- The Columbiana County Port Authority intends to contract with MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown to design a rail spur that serves Wellsville Intermodal Park, a contract dependent on funding from the state of Ohio.
The spur requires engineering of a switch at the western end of the industrial park and would complement the spur under construction by Hilcorp/Harvest close to the northern bank of the Ohio River. The spur MS would design would serve Marathon Oil and be built close to state Route 7/Clark Avenue, the CEO of the port authority, Tracy Drake, explained.
The Hilcorp/Harvest spur, to cost $12 million, would replace the now defunct Rosebud spur allowed to deteriorate by disuse, Drake told the port authority's board of directors at its meeting Monday evening.
The port authority is confident of funding from the state for the MS study because some $20 million in private investment has occurred at the industrial park. The state has $3.6 million available to draw on for the engineering study.
Complicating matters is the need for the Army Corps of Engineers to sign off on the project, Drake said. The Marathon spur would cross a ponding area of 3.6 acres but Marathon has improved the water-retention system and enlarged the area in question.
So until the sign-offs and approvals arrive -- expected within no more than two months -- the details of the contract with MS Consultants can’t be written.
Drake also reported that Buckeye Transfer Inc., Columbiana, is setting up a transloading station near Signal along the former Youngstown & Southern Railroad that will serve the shale industry. The station will employ eight and operate 24/7 loading and unloading railroad cars and trucks. Buckeye projects the site will handle 2,000 cars annually, Drake said.
The $3 million sale of the short line to Mule Sidetracks, a newly formed subsidiary of Denver-based MarkWest Energy, should be completed soon, only a “glitch” in the title, as Drake called it, to be resolved. While the port authority has title to the entire 36-mile line, a search by port authority staff uncovered a small segment that doesn’t reflect transfer of ownership of that segment three owners ago.
The port authority – and obviously Mule Sidetracks -- wants absolutely no question the Denver-based energy giant has title to the entire length of the railroad.
The sale has been approved by the U.S. Surface and Transportation Board, Drake said.
The treasurer/fiscal officer of the port authority, Penny Traina, reported that the price of health insurance for the staff will rise only 4% next year because the authority has taken advantage its carrier’s offer of early renewal. Rates were 10% higher this year than last.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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