The Alabama State Port Authority has contracted with R.T. Milord Company to develop Phase I of the Garrows Bend Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) at the Port of Mobile (Ala). The intermodal rail facility is part of the Port Authority’s three prong intermodal development that includes a 45 ft. draft container terminal and logistics park. The $20.1 million (USD) Millord contract calls for the construction of two (2) operating tracks, a run-around track, and a car repair siding track, each at a minimum of 3,000 ft. in length. Phase I components also include rubber tired gantry (RTG) runways and chassis storage areas, multilane gates, power distribution and lighting, an access road, and related surface improvements. The intermodal rail facility will be equipped with optical character recognition (OCR) portals at rail and truck entrances to increase throughput efficiency. The Port Authority’s Garrows Bend ICTF will service import/export containerized cargoes moving through APM Terminals Mobile as well as domestic containerized cargoes from regional manufacturers. “We are pleased to get this important phase of our intermodal investment program underway,” said James K. Lyons, director and chief executive for the Port Authority. “The delivery of an intermodal rail facility is essential to alleviating time and cost pressures for our shippers, while expanding our market reach.” The Phase I construction compliments the Port Authority’s new $10M rail bridge that connects the Garrows Bend ICTF with up to five Class I railroads serving the Port of Mobile. Both the ICTF rail bridge and the Phase I yard are funded by the Port Authority and a $12 million (USD) U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant. Phase I of the ICTF is expected to be completed by year-end 2015. The Garrows Bend ICTF Phase I project was calculated by Martin Associates to create over three hundred direct and indirect jobs and generate over $7.4 million in state and local revenue and tax impacts.