HUNTINGTON -- A proposed intermodal transportation facility in Wayne County is falling behind schedule, partly because state officials have not made the project a priority, state Sen. Bob Plymale said Wednesday.

During an hour-long visit with The Herald-Dispatch's editorial board, the Wayne County Democrat said it's now unlikely that the facility at Prichard will meet its projected completion date of June 2010.

"We can't stress enough how critical this project is," Plymale said. "It's our economic development portal for the global economy."

The intermodal facility is part of a larger transportation project called the Heartland Corridor, which involves improvements to Norfolk Southern railways between the Virginia coast and Columbus, Ohio, so that trains can carry more goods. Twenty-eight tunnels -- 23 of them in West Virginia -- will be raised so that trains can carry double-stacked containers.

The project also includes construction of three intermodal facilities for easier transfer of containers between rail, roadways, rivers and airways. In addition to Prichard, two other intermodal facilities are planned for Roanoke, Va., and Columbus.

The federal government has earmarked $90 million in federal funds for the Heartland Corridor, while Norfolk Southern and state and local funds are contributing as well. The West Virginia Legislature approved a bill in 2007 that allocates $4.375 million annually through 2016 for the construction of the Prichard intermodal facility. Norfolk Southern also gave the West Virginia Public Port Authority $1 million and 78 acres of land for the facility.

The project now awaits an environmental impact study before construction can begin, Plymale said. Given that it will take two years to build the facility, it's unlikely that it will meet its completion deadline, he said.

"The work on the tunnels is moving along as planned, and the other intermodal facilities are moving along, but West Virginia has dragged its feet," Plymale said. "It's taking the Port Authority about four to five times longer than normal to do this environmental impact study. They need a push, to be quite honest.

"The governor's not moving that fast on it either because it wasn't his bill. That's just my personal opinion."

On another subject, Plymale said the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health should be awarded grants in the near future to fund the construction of two new pathways. Those new pathways will stretch from the western end of Ritter Park to Harveytown and from West 3rd Street to West 13th Street, he said.

The 23-mile trail system, which will eventually stretch from Altizer in east Huntington to Kenova, will include existing pathways that will connect with newly constructed pathways and some special bicycle lanes on Huntington streets.

"For us to start addressing obesity, we have to have this," Plymale said. "If you don't have these types of amenities, we will continue down the same path for health and health outcomes that we've seen in recent years."

Keeping with the recreation theme, Plymale said he will propose a bill in the 2009 legislative session that aims to fund recreational projects such as the trail system along the Ohio River.

The bill would allow cities to tax companies that moor barges along a riverbank in their jurisdiction. Half of the revenue would go toward resolving issues caused by the companies, such as abandoned or sunken barges and riverbank erosion. The other half would go toward recreation.

"These mooring facilities have forced us into a corner of either recreation or commerce," Plymale said. "We have to squelch that and say they can easily exist together."

Westmoreland residents have long opposed efforts to build barge-mooring facilities along the riverbank in their neighborhood. Plymale said the issue shows some of the problems that come with being the largest inland port in the country.

However, it also exposes the need for a strategic plan for the Port of Huntington, he said. West Virginia and the Appalachian Regional Commission have committed $50,000 each for the compilation of such a plan, he said.

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Mark Webb/The Herald Dispatch

State Sen. Bob Plymale, chair of the Senate Education Committee, speaks during the dedication ceremony for the Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratory on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008, at Marshall University.

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