Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon basic terminal [Photo: Ports of Indiana]
Ports of Indiana has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to establish potential operators for the overall cargo terminal at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon. The 11-acre facility contains three warehouses totaling 90,000 sq. ft, potential connections to 5 Class I railroads, and a 60-ton twin raise crane able to transloading cargoes between warehouse, barge, truck, and rail.
“The Mount Vernon crane terminal is a unique multimodal facility that is strategically located at the median center of the U.S. population,” mentioned Jason May, port director at Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon. “This terminal connects the country’s busiest inland port district with as many as five Class I railroads, just 20 miles from the new I-69 Canada-to-Mexico highway coordinator. We’re looking for a partner that can maximize this facility’s potential to increase general cargo shipments and grow the regional economy.”
The terminal underwent $2.5 million in upgrades lately, together with a brand new 60-ton electrical crane put in in 2020, a barge winch system put in in 2023, a whole concrete ground substitute in 2019, and upgraded fireplace suppression system.
The 75-foot-wide crane can service a number of rail spurs and truck lanes on the higher and decrease riverbank areas and extends greater than 700 ft from barge berth right into a 53,000 sq. foot warehouse. The facility might be operated on as a lot as 11 acres, together with two extra adjoining warehouses and three acres of out of doors storage space.
The port has barge fleeting and rail switching firms on web site, in addition to extra 600 acres of commercial websites out there for future enterprise improvement and enlargement.
“Ports of Indiana is looking for more than just a breakbulk stevedore,” May mentioned. “The terminal operator would be expected to grow and diversify shipments, partner with the port on facility expansions, and drive projects that create significant economic benefits for the regional economy.”
TOP RANKING
The seek for a brand new terminal operator comes as, for the primary time ever, Indiana ports rank first amongst inland ports and second amongst Great Lakes ports for cargo shipments. Recent modifications to federal port rankings brought on Indiana to maneuver from having a number of small port districts and lots of shipments not counted to having two top-ranked ports on the inland rivers and Great Lakes.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) most recent rankings, the Southern Indiana Port District dealt with 24.2 million tons in 2021, which ranked first amongst all inland ports and forward of second-ranked Port of Pittsburgh’s 16.4 million tons. The Northern Indiana Port District dealt with 30.3 million tons, which was 2.2 million tons behind the first-ranked the Port of Duluth-Superior, which incorporates terminals in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Indiana has the most important Great Lakes port district positioned in a single state. Overall, the Northern Indiana Port District ranked because the twentieth largest port within the nation whereas the Southern Indiana Port District ranked twenty sixth. The rankings are produced by the USACE Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center, and are based mostly on whole tons shipped in 2021, the newest knowledge out there.
The RFQ seeks {qualifications} from firms excited by working the crane terminal with responses due by July 7. Ports of Indiana will subject a proper Request for Proposals to certified firms.
