Source: NCDOT, 2/5/18

The North Carolina State Port Authority (NCSPA) serves as a conduit of economic development for businesses and industries needing access to global markets. As a part of this system, the Port of Wilmington is a critical link in the North Carolina supply chain, serving as a tool for economic growth and job creation throughout the state.

The Port is actively enhancing and expanding operations to accommodate the current and future needs of our growing economy. To date, NCSPA has partnered with the NCDOT Rail Division to complete six rail projects  
that have improved rail operations and provided additional capacity to allow for the expansion at the port. On Oct. 24, 2017, members of the NCDOT Rail Planning Unit met with NCSPA representatives to tour the Wilmington Port. Completed rail projects were reviewed, and upcoming 2017 and 2018 Short Line Infrastructure Assistance Program (SIAP) projects were discussed.

* The 2017 SIAP project will rebuild Track 13 and create an additional storage track to accommodate the additional capacity needed to support the Queen City Express intermodal train service that was recently implemented.

* The 2018 SIAP project will completely rebuild Tracks 1 and 18. The goal is to improve the infrastructure at the Port to allow for regular intermodal service and leverage opportunities for increased economic growth.

The attraction of a new Far East super post-Panamax container service translates into more than $3 billion in direct impacts to the state. Continued Queen City Express service and other investments on and around the Port will boost these state rail assets to their greatest value, take trucks off the highway and improve the
transportation costs for North Carolina businesses.  As the world economy continues to grow and the mass exchange of goods occurs between domestic and international communities, these ongoing improvement projects position the NCSPA to be competitive in the global economy while providing jobs and critical services to
North Carolina residents and businesses. The NCDOT Rail Division is pleased to be a partner in these ongoing and vital transportation improvement projects.