Fairwinds Terminal Services, LLC (Fairwinds) will receive a $750,000 grant to rehabilitate 12,000 feet of track in service at its Norfolk, Va., facility through Virginia’s Rail Industrial Access Program, which has funded 29 projects across the commonwealth since 2018, resulting in more than 193,000 trucks being diverted from highways and local roadways, and leveraging nearly $1.5 billion in capital investments.
Program administrator Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) on June 18 reported that the Commonwealth Transportation Board recently voted to award the grant to Fairwinds, which works in the defense, energy, and “niche non-containerized dry cargo” markets, and “moves large electrical transformers from international waters to domestic suppliers and ships locomotives to destinations around the world.”
The track rehab project will allow 310 new carloads to move each year—the equivalent of 1,054 trucks, according to Virginia DRPT. It is part of a $200 million upgrade initiative at the 131-acre waterfront facility, now known as Fairwinds Landing, which will include railcar transloading to move products between local container terminals and midwestern markets, according to Virginia DRPT. The facility will ultimately become a multi-function, multi-tenant maritime logistics center, “considerably expanding terminal capabilities and import/export operation volumes,” and helping create 250 new jobs. It is served by Norfolk Southern and offers on-dock rail (see maps below).
“We are proud to help a local, veteran-owned business reach suppliers within and outside of the commonwealth,” Virginia DRPT Director Mariia Zimmerman said. “Investment in rail infrastructure helps to grow jobs, reduces congestion and strengthens our supply chain. Every carload moved over rail is a move in the right direction for Norfolk, for Virginia, and for domestic and international trade.”…