"Inland Port" Finally Set to Open in October

South Carolina’s $25 million inland port is set to open this month, a little later than expected because of this year’s heavy rains, according to an update on three terminal projects given Tuesday to the board of the agency operating the state’s ports.

Jim Newsome, the president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority, said data tests will start Friday using the computers that will track shipments through the inland port providing a direct rail link between Greer, S.C., and the state’s coast.

“We are in good shape with this,” Newsome said, adding that heavy rains caused crews to lose 72 days of work time. The original opening date had been in early September.

Once open, the terminal is expected to eliminate as many as 50,000 truck trips a year on busy Interstate 626 between Charleston and the Greenville-Spartanburg area.

The terminal is part of $1.3 billion in capital improvements the ports are undertaking during the next decade.

One of those projects is a $525 million container terminal at the old Charleston Naval Base now under construction and expected to open in 2019.

David Kinard, an engineer with the state Department of Transportation, told the board work on a road linking the port with Interstate 26 in North Charleston could begin as early as 2015.

But he said that depends on exactly when the new terminal is going to open and the authority providing $100 million toward the project’s $282 million construction cost.

Land acquisition is already underway and the last federal permit needed for the project, from the Federal Highway Administration, was issued last week. Under agreements with local governments, the access road must be completed before the terminal opens.