The Georgia Ports Authority has opened the $134 million Gainesville Inland Port in Hall County, Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp, customers, Hall County officials and port authority leaders took part in the grand opening. The authority estimates the terminal will take about 26,000 truck loads off Georgia highways.
The facility links Northeast Georgia shippers to the Port of Savannah through Norfolk Southern rail service, which connects to the port's 40 weekly vessel calls. It has annual capacity for 200,000 containers and serves North Georgia and the Carolinas. Trucks reach the terminal from Interstates 85 and 985, and the truck gate operates from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Imports moving through the site include home and retail goods and manufacturing components, while exports include farm and forest products and manufactured goods.
The port authority points to a regional base of about 2 million consumers and more than 300 manufacturers in Northeast Georgia. Since 2020, 78 new and expanding companies in Gainesville and Hall County have added more than 4,800 jobs and $2 billion in capital investment. Manufacturing, processing and logistics make up 33 percent of the local workforce.
The authority also funded $4.8 million in Hall County road projects, including removal of an at-grade rail crossing, a reroute of White Sulphur Road and resurfacing of Cagle Road.
The opening fits into a larger statewide plan. The authority's 10-year, $5 billion program adds five container berths at the Port of Savannah and one roll-on/roll-off berth at the Port of Brunswick. Construction is set to begin in 2028 on a $2.3 billion, 350-acre Savannah container terminal with 3.5 million TEU of capacity and an on-dock rail terminal, expected to open in the mid-2030s.
Source: The Trucker -- https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/business/georgia-inland-port-means-reduction-in-truck-traffic