Elko ready to begin work on railport and idustrial park

Elko officials this month will break ground on a regional railport, a facility that they hope will spur further industrial development.

The railport a "multimodal transloading facility" in the language of planners will handle the movement of freight between trucks and rail.

The Elko County facility will be about six miles east of the city on the 840-acre Ellison Ranch. The land was purchased by Elko County last month.

Elaine Barkdull, executive director of the Elko County Economic Diversification Authority, said development officials believe the 100-acre railport along a major Union Pacific line is likely to serve customers in southern Idaho, northern Nevada and parts of Utah.

The Northeast Nevada Regional Railport is along Interstate 80 as well, and Elko officials note that it's between West Coast ports and Salt Lake City distribution centers.

The facility will be owned by the county and managed under a contract with a private operator. Barkdull said no contract has been signed yet for the railport's operation.

Elko-area officials also hope the railport will draw other industrial users. A study last year identified construction products companies, mining suppliers and small manufacturing companies as industries that might be targeted.

Also among the target industries are food processors because Elko County has good water supplies.

Another possibility, Barkdull said, is creation of a foreign-trade zone at the railport. Within a foreign trade zone, customs duties are deferred on imported merchandise that's headed for U.S. markets. Merchandise that's re-exported is allowed into the zone duty-free.

The county government hasn't decided whether it will sell or lease land in the industrial park, Barkdull said.

The state government provided $1 million for the project's costs, and Nevada economic officials told members of the State Senate last year that they expect the railport also will benefit rural economies from Winnemucca to Ely.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance a year ago, Barkdull said the industrial park and railport might generate as many as 1,300 to 1,800 jobs.

Groundbreaking for the railport will be June 23.