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Inland Port Helps
Shippers Save Time, Money
Related
links:
— The Shenandoah Valley:
Where Natural Beauty Meets Business
— Q&A
with Shenandoah University President James A. Davis
Tucked
away in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Front Royal is a
secret weapon that helps boost the massive port of Hampton
Roads and the rest of the state. Operated by The Virginia
Port Authority, the Virginia Inland Port accepts and
processes container shipments from trucks, prepares
necessary documents and then transfers the containers
by rail or truck to VPA wharves in Newport News, Norfolk
and Portsmouth about 260 miles away.
The
big advantage of the Inland Port, just 65 miles west
of Washington, D.C., in Warren County, is that it offers
shippers a shortcut to Hampton Roads from major industrial
and retail markets in the Midwest and Northeast. The
facility is on Interstate 81, a major north-south trucking
route. It also connects easily with such major east-west
routes as Interstates 70 and 80 and the Pennsylvania
Turnpike, tapping producers of such products as auto
parts, automobiles, machinery, electronic equipment,
foodstuffs and consumer goods.
Shippers
using the Inland Port can shave about 500 miles off
their trucking routes and can save hours, if not days,
in shipping time. The Inland Port has also been a major
boost to the upper Shenandoah Valley by attracting nearly
$500 million in investments in such related businesses
as warehouses for mass-market retailers and shippers
and adding to the commercial tax base and local labor
market. A good example of economic expansion in the
area would be the Strasburg Industrial Park in Shenandoah
County. This new facility has 344 acres of available
space and is strategically located at the major interchange
of Interstate 81 and Interstate 66, in close proximity
to the Inland Port.
Return
to Virginia Business - November 2002
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