Rail Infrastructure Corridor Announced

Gov. Kay Ivey recently announced the creation of the A-USA Corridor, which will provide $231.6 million in rail infrastructure projects in central and southern Alabama, Business Alabama reported. The public-private partnership is with Norfolk Southern, which is providing more than half of the funding. The first phase involves linking the Port of Mobile with the McCalla Intermodal Facility near Birmingham. The $71.6-million, 280-mi. rail corridor will also link large economic development sites in Etowah (Little Canoe Creek), Shelby (Calera) and Washington/Mobile (Calvert) counties, each on more than 1,000 acres. The Growing Alabama Tax Credit program helped expedite work required to make the sites immediately available for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution. “Working together with the port in Mobile to build out our infrastructure to move the commerce for Alabama and the greater southeastern region of the country must be one of our top priorities,” said Ivey. “Creating good port access to central Alabama is a key part of this initiative, and it can provide options for freight containers to reach new destinations inland, which our country has struggled with during the supply-chain crisis.”