By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
The international inland port in the city’s southern sector will create, once fully completed, more than 30,000 jobs according to officials centrally involved in the project. It is one of the most significant projects that regional leaders and governments are engaged in, and I fully support it.
The port is possible because of the region’s superior transportation infrastructure which includes five interstate highways and two world-class railroad lines. The port currently services the needs of companies such as Whirl Pool, Unilever, Home Depot, American Standard and Kohl’s. that store products in the facility and later ships them to other destination.
Companies such as BMW, Ace Hardware, Quaker Oaks and L’Oreal should be operational in the port by the end of this year. It is anticipated that the port will become one of the major distribution centers within a 24 hour drive of Dallas.
Goods from Mexico, Central America and South America and Asia are shipped to the port, which is located two miles from where highways I- 20 and I- 45 intersect. The idea was conceived in 2005. The projected completion date is 2038.
The concept of inland ports has gained popularity over the years and they are seen as prudent alternatives to intermodal transfers at coastal ports where goods are placed directly on trucks and in railroad cars. In its early years I was able to secure federal funding for infrastructure development.
As global trade expands many American coastal ports have become congested, shippers have lost time and costs have escalated. Many business owners now prefer taking their goods directly to inland ports rather than having them delayed in coastal areas.
Increased international activity at the Port of Houston and the expansion of the Panama Canal are seen as bonuses for the Dallas inland port. Goods can be transported from Houston on I-45 and taken directly to the port. During my international travels, particularly in China, I speak to business leaders about the port and urge them to use its facilities.
The facility receives four to six trains daily from the Long Beach/Los Angeles area. Currently, products from China that enter the U.S. come through California. They are then shipped to ports in the eastern portion of the country. Good from the inland port will be shipped to sites within a twenty-four hour trucking distance from Dallas.
