An Intermodal Logistics Complex (ILC), also known as an InlandPort,
is a physical site located away from traditional land, air and
coastal borders with the vision to facilitate and process
international trade through strategic investment in multi-modal
transportation assets and by promoting value-added services as goods
move through the supply chain.
An ILC is a more specialized facility that has
come about with the advent of the shipping container in
international transport. Rather than goods being loaded/unloaded in
a seaport, shipping containers can just be transferred between ship
and truck or ship and train; transferred along road and rail
to/from elsewhere where the goods are loaded/unloaded at their point
of origin or final destination.
Shipping containers allow some functions traditionally carried out
at a seaport to be moved elsewhere. Examples are the functions of
receiving, processing through customs, inspecting, sorting, and
consolidating containers going to the same overseas port. Container
transfer at the seaport can be sped up and container handling space
can be reduced by transferring functions to an inland site away from
the port and coast.
Distribution may also be made more efficient by setting up the link
between the inland site and seaport as, say, a high-capacity rail
link with a lower unit cost than sending containers individually by
road. The containers are still collected from their origins or
distributed to their ultimate destinations by road with the transfer
happening at the inland site.
Ports are suffering from increasing confinement by residential
development on or near their borders. Growth of surrounding
residential and commercial infrastructure increasingly chokes access
corridors, vital to meet current transportation needs and restricts
capacity for growth. Development patterns, especially for waterfront
communities and resorts, are having detrimental impacts to the
business of trade, as politically powerful, well financed neighbors
exert pressure on the political structure to impede Port expansion.
Existing highways and connectors are at or near capacity throughout
the state. As the eastern cities expand to the west because they
are fast approaching their saturation point, existing industrial
areas are being converted into residential areas or being boxed in
by those communities and experiencing the negative effects of higher
operating costs and slower delivery of goods.
In addition, rail corridors are becoming
increasingly difficult to utilize for on time delivery due to the
proliferation of at grade rail crossings. For example, there are over
200 rail crossings on the southeastern FEC Railway between the
Port
of Palm Beach and Port of Miami alone. Further, there is limited
area for rail interchanges to meet expanding markets. Restrictions
placed on rail operators in residential areas, lawsuits arising from
adherence to safety rules or accidents created by others, and rising
insurance costs and frivolous claims are contributing greatly to rail
operator inefficiencies and overpricing. Another substantial contributor
to rail inefficiency is the current lack of cooperation between rail
lines and utilization of existing interconnectivity while failing to
build more effective rail infrastructure. If the
Port of Palm Beach wished to deliver an
intermodal railcar the 150 miles from the Port to Orlando, the railcar would be routed 250 miles
north to Jacksonville,
interchanged from FEC rail Line to CSX Rail Line, then south 150 miles.
Over 80% of the state is unable to utilize our rail system for
intermodal cargo in a cost effective manner. On time, low cost service
is a vital component to the significant changes necessary to protect our
State’s rail transportation network. Intelligent
use of our existing rail infrastructure and construction of new rail
connections will enable the State to greatly reduce truck movements,
reduce costs, fuel usage, and emissions, while accommodating growth
needs in transportation.
The market for building materials is tremendous in the
South Florida region and is expected to grow by leaps and
bounds. Cement and aggregate companies are looking for areas for
expansion and Ports are struggling to keep up with demand. Steel and
lumber imports are also increasing dramatically and rail shipments for
these commodities are on the rise. The Port of Miami and Port Everglades are almost
completely dedicated to cruise vessels and containerized cargo. Cement,
lumber, steel, gypsum board, and other building materials are being
shipped further north, and consequently, are being trucked farther south
to end users in the South Florida region. These high transportation costs are
being passed on to the consumers.
The
Port of Palm Beach proposes the development of an
inland port cargo complex in the
SouthBay area. The project will
centralize cargo distribution systems (rail and truck) and related
value-added industrial activities into one complex, outside of the
densely developed coastal area of the South Florida
region. This complex will consist of approximately 3500 acres at the
southern tip of Lake Okeechobee, just west and south of SouthBay
in Palm BeachCounty and will feature rail connectivity
for both FEC and CSX through the SCFE Railway as well as access to SR 80
and US 27. Future improvements of the east/west rail and road
corridors must be implemented for transportation efficiency. This site
will relocate many bulk and break-bulk cargo movements which move by
truck along I-95 and the Florida Turnpike. Truck movements to the south
will utilize US 27, west of populated areas for faster, safer delivery.
Bulk and break-bulk operators will be able to utilize the seaport rail
connection to place vast quantities of cargo to a low-cost industrial
intermodal site via existing rail connections, which will enable
shippers to economically store cargo, and move cargo through newly
created corridors.This site
will open new markets for other Ports with rail access, who will be able
to utilize the benefits of rail and highway connections created at this
location. The project will ensure that ports act as a conduit to
efficient, intermodal distribution, bypassing existing and future
distribution choke points.
Creation of this industrial site with rail and highway
connectivity will allow for catastrophic response for
U.S.
military, medical and relief supply accommodation and distribution.Chain of delivery will be able to utilize industrial corridor
bypassing highly populated areas for faster response.The site will allow for an alternate means of evacuation by rail
for a significant number of residents and potential troop movements into
affected areas.Establishing
rail and seaport interconnectivity will allow fuel supply to connected
seaports in the event of terrorist or natural disaster destroying a port
fuel terminal. (Tampa
to Port Everglades.)This site and connectivity will allow for post-disaster
reconstruction in a timely and cost effective manner.
Construction of rail along US 27 linking the existing rail lines
at the Medley and Hialeah rail yards (served by FEC), will enable
approximately 75% of the current total rail shipments which run along
the east coast through highly populated areas, to be relocated to the
west along the industrial corridor connecting to both the east and west
coasts of Florida. These bulk and break-bulk shipments will be able to
move freely along unpopulated areas and increase rail cargo volumes. By
reducing total rail volume of approximately 75% from the eastern rail
corridor to the west, a great opportunity for passenger rail development
will be created. The scope of this project will be reduced in
conjunction with the newly FDOT approved growth management FEC Railway
project of double track rail construction from
Hialeah
past Medley Yard. Construction of this rail extension in conjunction
with east/west corridor improvements will allow for hub and spoke
containerized interconnectivity between Florida Ports. One corridor
improvement is the construction of a rail transfer facility along US 27 near SR 84, which links Port
Everglades for intermodal exchange, which would need to meet approval of
Port Everglades and the Broward County Board. This site would allow
access to the US 27 highway,
SR 84, and new rail extension.
Project Goals:
Creation of an Inland Port Intermodal Cargo Complex and rail
improvements will accomplish several critical intermodal goals:
1. Establish the first truly regional intermodal port facility which
increases rail utilization and reduces truck movements.
2. To create, preserve, and maintain industrial enterprise zones for the
formation of new and existing bulk, breakbulk, and containerized
facilities necessary for the current and long term economic development
within the state.
3. To establish transportation connectivity between seaports, airports,
rail and truck corridors which will efficiently move freight to end
users through designated industrial distribution centers and intermodal
corridors.
4. To greatly reduce freight interference through congested population
areas by rail and truck, to allow for mass transit passenger rail
connectivity and to separate passenger and freight center traffic.
5. To provide a viable means of catastrophic event response for military
and relief supply chain delivery, evacuation, and interconnectivity for
maintaining vital resources while rebuilding damaged areas.
6. Centralize distribution modes into one location, thereby increasing
efficiency and enabling new connections to markets outside of the
County, including the Tampa Bay area; and,
The project will require significant investment, engineering, and
interdepartmental cooperation from a wide variety ofstakeholders.
Conclusion:
FloridaPorts
and Transportation networks face unprecedented challenges and have very
limited time and resources to affect the changes necessary to overcome
these challenges. A macroeconomic approach must be taken in conjunction
with an integration of new and existing infrastructure, which must
transcend geopolitical interests. Now is the time to design and
implement plans for the common sense solutions to our transportation
networks. We must attain and protect areas of vital regional, state, and
national interest, just as we do for environmental and political
interests.
