Site work likely needed for Prichard project

CHARLESTON -- An environmental impact study to be conducted in Prichard was a subject covered today in a meeting of the West Virginia Public Port Authority.

Prichard is the site of a proposed intermodal facility to be stationed along the Heartland Corridor, a railway improvement project, and the environmental impact study is necessary before construction begins.

It was discussed at the meeting what will be involved in studying the land where the facility will sit, which is between the Big Sandy River and Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks. It's owned by the Port Authority.

"They're going to drill some holes, and they'll have to mitigate some of the existing land, what I call swamplands," said Bob Trocin, executive director of the Wayne County Economic Development Authority, who attended the meeting. "They'll have to be careful about what kind of fill they put in."

Trocin said to fill that land, workers plan to use fill transferred from another nearby project, the construction of an interchange along U.S. 52, north of Prichard. The state has received $5 million in federal transportation dollars for that project, which will help accommodate increased traffic from the Heartland Corridor. That should be under way soon as well, Trocin said.

The Heartland Corridor is a project that involves Norfolk Southern, as well as local, state and federal agencies. It involves improvements in railways between the Virginia coast and Columbus, Ohio, so that trains can carry more goods.

Tunnels will be raised so that trains can carry double-stacked containers, and it includes construction of three intermodal facilities for easier transfer of containers between railroads, roadways, rivers and airways. One will be in Prichard.

Officials have targeted 2010 for the completion of the entire project, but Trocin said the completion of this environmental impact study is several months away.