HUNTINGTON -- Many Huntington residents may not realize that the stretch of Ohio River that runs next to the city is part of the largest inland port in the United States.
While the Port of Huntington is larger than other inland ports such as Pittsburgh and St. Louis, it's about more than bragging rights, says Dana Robertson, director of the National Maritime Enhancement Institute for the Nick J. Rahall II Appalachian Transportation Institute at Marshall University.
It's also about increasing opportunities for economic and recreational development.
"When seeking funds for security, economic development and recreational purposes, we can use this designation to draw attention to our port's unique position in the nation's maritime system," Robertson said. "It's definitely catapulted our status and the advantages of having the Ohio River system in our back yard onto a national level."
The Port of Huntington became the largest port in the United States in 2000, when the Navigation Data Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the region's application to add nearly 200 miles of Ohio River and its tributaries.
The port covers 199 miles, including 100 miles of the Ohio River, 90 miles of the Kanawha River and nine miles of the Big Sandy River. In 2005, the port shipped and received 84 million tons. The year before the expansion, it only shipped or received 24 million tons.
The port expansion has opened other doors to development, even though they may be a few years away, Robertson said. It allowed the local Maritime Enhancement Institute to be one of nine institutes nationwide that was named to the National Maritime Training System Advisory Council. Though the appointment doesn't sound like a big deal on the surface, it provides the area with a powerful tool, he said.
"It makes recommendations on the use of waterways directly related to transportation, and we're now part of that," he said. "We've got to be thinking of transportation as rail, road and water."
While all three forms of transportation have to be available and work together to attract business, waterway transportation is more efficient, safer and causes less environmental pollution, Robertson said.
Considering the Mississippi River has become a main artery for shipping products in containers, the Ohio River cannot be overlooked, he said.
"Most of the stuff we ship by barge is coal, petroleum, grains, iron and steel," he said. "Container traffic will come if we can find a product that lends itself to that form of shipping."
Perhaps the most untapped aspect of the Port of Huntington, Robertson said, is the abundance of recreational opportunities that are available.
Part of the development vision for the port is creating jobs through tourism and recreation, he said. Whether that will happen in Huntington hinges on whether Harris Riverfront Park can be revitalized, he said.
"If you look at Cincinnati, Louisville or Chattanooga, their downtowns take advantage of the fact that a river is there," Robertson said. "Rivers naturally attract people, and they've capitalized on that by making them the core of their developments."
Huntington can do the same by removing the floodwall in downtown Huntington between 1st and 12th streets, Robertson said. Many people don't think of frequenting the riverfront when they are downtown because the floodwall blocks its natural beauty, he said.
"We need a floodwall, but there are temporary floodwalls that can be installed to provide protection when needed," said Robertson, who retired as colonel of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Huntington District Office in 2000. "If this is done, it will open up the area to tourism rather than block people from going in there."
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