The South Carolina Ports Authority did not receive federal infrastructure funding assistance through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to supplement the capital investment required for the Dillon inland port project; however, the SCPA says that the process to bring the project is still moving forward.
“Inland Port Dillon was not a recipient of the TIGER grants that were announced by DOT at the end of July, which was disappointing news for the project. However, Dillon is still the ideal location for the state’s next inland port facility, and SCPA is continuing the process of studying the feasibility of the project. The next step is for that information to be presented to our Board of Directors for their funding consideration, which we hope will happen over the next few months,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome.
The Dillon site under SCPA consideration offers access to an existing CSX mainline, which opens a different intermodal marketplace from Inland Port Greer and provides access to Southeastern markets as well as the Midwest. Proximity to I-95, a critical transportation artery in the Southeast, is an important benefit of the location as well as current port users in the area, which represent significant base cargo opportunities for the facility, the S.C. Ports Authority release said at the time of the announcement that they were looking into an inland port in Dillon County.