Posted on 05/11/2026 4:47:01 PM PDT by CFW
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia Ports Authority opened a $134 million inland port in Hall County last Monday to move freight by rail and reduce truck traffic on Georgia highways.
What we know: The Gainesville Inland Port is a 104-acre facility located just outside of Gainesville in Hall County.
It features seven 90-foot-tall cranes designed to load and unload shipping containers. The site is connected directly to the Port of Savannah via the Norfolk Southern rail system.
The facility cost about $134 million to build and took about 19 months to complete.
What they're saying: The port is expected to have a major impact on road safety and congestion by moving freight off the pavement and onto the tracks.
Wesley Barrell, the general manager of inland operations for the Georgia Ports Authority, estimates the facility will eliminate 26,000 truck trips through the Atlanta metro area in the first year alone.
"Being able to serve a truck with a dual transaction, bringing one in and taking one out, and being able to move that within 15 minutes, that expedites the freight movement to any of the manufacturers or the customers using this facility as well," he said.
While the facility created 20 direct jobs, officials say the project will support tens of thousands of other positions across the region. It is designed to help local manufacturers and agricultural businesses send and receive import and export products more efficiently.
(Excerpt) Read more at fox5atlanta.com ...
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I went to the first and second grades on nearby St Simon’s Island.
It was great place to be a kid. I remember learning to fish and catching yellowtail snapper.
We also dug lots of holes looking for Blackbeard’s treasure.
If democRATs like Newsom, Sanders, Ocrazio-Cortex get in charge, all future projects will be as successful as the Kalifornia Train To Nowhere.
Trains are going to have to go through Atlanta or the Charlotte area to get to Gainesville.
It should move some truck traffic from I-16 to I-85. I don't know if I'd count that as a win.
Canadian Pacific just expanded an old KCS intermodal facility about as far out of Dallas as this one will be out of Atlanta. It's probably increased, rather than reduced, truck traffic on local highways.
Wrong thread?
This move immediately eliminated 50 FTE trucking jobs. Now AI and automation is about to wipe out the crane operator positions. Those trains I beleive operate with just two man crews and at sound point they will be autonomous.
As WAYMO has shown well designed and trained self driving vehicles are far safer than human drivers.
The kicker, all this tech is also how the economy will take care of all the aging boomers.
The math says an average of 71 fewer trucks/day or about 3 fewer trucks/hour. During peak traffic seasons, the impact may be greater.
Years back, Savannah dredged their port to allow for larger ships. It turns out that was a very wise and forward thinking move. Savannah’s port now handles approx 15,000 containers daily.
It’s a fun city to go to for a touristy weekend.
The facility cost about $134 million to build and took about 19 months to complete.
If democRATs like Newsom, Sanders, Ocrazio-Cortex get in charge, all future projects will be as successful as the Kalifornia Train To Nowhere.
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Lived in Vegas area. Saw on the local news about a Strip Beautification project that had been completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
First thought was “how in hell did the county do that?”.
Right after news states it was done by the casinos, not the county.
OK, Got it.
They’re in the process of widening I-16 in anticipation of this.
A touristy weekend in Savannah sounds great. I’ve been all over the world but somehow missed that supposedly beautiful city. Considered it in January when I took my daughter to New Orleans where we have a lot of family history she’d never really understood.
Fewer furrin’ truck drivers on the road, I hope…
So the South IS rising again
Savannah is a beautiful and unique place…however, not unlike other places it has its challenges.
I want to go see the Savannah Bananas.
Hopefully the intermodal containers shipped here will be ones that are on their way to a routing along the way to and beyond Gainsville. I-85 N S is close here as a route choice once this freight is truck bound. Not a great reentry point to resume congestion in my opinion though?
Tax payers money, I wonder if the old American Truckers Association guys would be buying any stock.
JB Hunt started and was a major proponent of rail/truck/sea intermodal transportation.
But, I think he wanted the freight to continue on once aboard the train to nearer a destination.
Maybe there are other ways to unload containers other than millions of dollars worth of 90’ crane at one place???
For 123 mil bucks it begs the question concerning cost benefit/ other better (solutions?), maybe not free money wall slingings.
Georgia ,the peach state,,,, pickled for sure in 2020.
America has awesome waterways. Most city folk aren’t aware of this.
US is the best in the world. This is not a waterway though. They are putting it on rail to Gainesville.
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