A study to determine the feasibility of developing a riverport in the region has been completed by the Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky.
A report issued as a result of the study was presented during a membership meeting of the Maysville-Mason County Chamber of Commerce at the Maysville Country Club on Tuesday (November 3).
Roy Sturgill and Bryan Gibson reviewed the report, telling the more than 60 in attendance that a riverport in the Maysville area makes sense and should be studied further.
The two suggested members of the Port Authority and local officials seek grant funding to develop a riverport plan and consider infrastructure improvements that would make property in Charleston Bottoms attractive as a site.
“The goal should be to create a functional port that could be expanded,” said Sturgill.
Members of the Port Authority stressed the UK study was preliminary in nature and was intended only to determine whether a new port would be feasible.
Sturgill said there is no timetable for development, but grant funding opportunities would open in the spring of 2016, and local officials could be in a position to ask for funding to prepare a formal plan.
Gibson told the crowd Transportation Center representatives had looked at several sites in the region including an industrial site near Dover and the Lewis County Industrial Park near Vanceburg.
He said the 142-acre site in Charleston Bottoms – currently owned by CSX – is perhaps the most promising because of its proximity to highway and railroad corridors. In spite of the property’s location on the river, most of the ground sits close to the 500-year floodplain.
The 50-mile distance in either direction to an Ohio River bridge also makes the area attractive for development.
Sturgill and Gibson reviewed economic and demographic trends that suggest the region has the available workforce to support a port facility and the educational opportunities to provide skilled workers to staff it.
The two men also talked at length about the kinds of materials that would likely pass through a river port. For the most part, that would include commodities and bulk items including coal, aggregates and agricultural production.
Gibson pointed out that river transportation is changing and that there are opportunities as well for finished products and other types of materials that do not require a fast timetable for delivery.
The two also noted that river traffic support services such as barge cleaning and repair, vessel maintenance and fueling services could be a part of the mix.
Gibson explained that ports on the inland waterway system can be owned and operated by a variety of public and private organizations. For example, the land could be owned by local government and leased to a private company. Or the property and the port facility could be privately owned and operated.
The expansion of the Ports of Cincinnati to include the counties along this stretch of the Ohio may open additional opportunities for development, according to the report.
Sturgill said Port Authority members were instrumental in preparation of the study report and those members were knowledgeable and engaged when it came to infrastructure and river commerce.
“They’re a good group and the people in this room are well-represented by the Authority,” said Sturgill.
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