Drayage vehicles part of $300,000 sustainable transportation project funded in part by Indiana DieselWise grant funds

GARY — City and state officials gathered at Jack Gray Transport, Inc. on Monday as the company unveiled its six new clean diesel-powered drayage trucks.

The clean diesel drayage trucks are part of Jack Gray Transport, Inc.’s nearly $300,000 sustainable transportation project. Clean diesel, also known as ultra low-sulfur diesel or ULSD, when combined with U.S. EPA-verified technologies such as particulate filters, helps reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

South Shore Clean Cities’ Communications Director Lauri Keagle (l) , Indiana Department of Environmental Management Senior Environmental Manager Shawn Seals, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, Jack Gray Transport, Inc. owner Danette Garza and Jack Gray Transport, Inc. Chief Operating Officer James Dillman stand in front of one of six new clean diesel drayage trucks at the Gary company Monday morning. The trucks were made possible in part by an IDEM DieselWise Indiana grant in cooperation with South Shore Clean Cities.
South Shore Clean Cities’ Communications Director Lauri Keagle (l) , Indiana Department of Environmental Management Senior Environmental Manager Shawn Seals, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, Jack Gray Transport, Inc. owner Danette Garza and Jack Gray Transport, Inc. Chief Operating Officer James Dillman stand in front of one of six new clean diesel drayage trucks at the Gary company Monday morning. The trucks were made possible in part by an IDEM DieselWise Indiana grant in cooperation with South Shore Clean Cities.
Jack Gray Transport, Inc. began operations in 1951 under the ownership of Jack Gray, providing primarily ray material and aggregate transportation services. Danette Garza took ownership of the company in 2015, pledging to modernize operations. The sustainable transportation project is helping Garza and Jack Gray Transport, Inc. achieve that goal.

“Implementing sustainable transportation practices is helping to transform our nearly 70-year-old company into a more modern, state-of-the-art operation,” Garza said. “We are thankful for our partners in this project and look forward to continuing to change the face of the trucking industry in Northwest Indiana.”

The vehicle purchases were made possible in part by a DieselWise Indiana 2017 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in cooperation with South Shore Clean Cities.

“We are proud of the work of our member Jack Gray Transport, Inc. in moving toward cleaner fuels and vehicles,” South Shore Clean Cities Communications Director Lauri Keagle said. “The switch to sustainable transportation options helps reduce our nation’s dependence on imported oil, reduces harmful emissions, supports local jobs, improves air quality and enhances quality of life for those who live, work and play in Gary. We applaud their efforts.”

Replacing the diesel-fueled trucks with clean diesel will keep an estimated 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel – roughly 2.5 tanker trucks full -- from being used each year, thereby eliminating the harmful emissions they produce while operating in Lake County, which is designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being a nonattainment area for ozone emissions as regulated by the Clean Air Act. The new clean diesel vehicles will reduce nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, both of which are ozone precursors, by 98 percent.

The move to clean diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to removing 38 passenger vehicles from the roads for one year.