VAN BUREN -- A company headquartered in Miami is making up for lost time as part of a plan to transport goods throughout the country, which is intended to include the River Valley.
Sal Litrico, chief executive officer of American Patriot Holdings, provided the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority's board an update at its meeting Wednesday.
The authority signed a five-year, nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District in Louisiana and inland waterway shipper American Patriot Container Transport of New Orleans in 2019. It did this with the intent to develop an intermodal port in Crawford County as part of a multistate initiative to ship container freight using inland river systems.
Litrico said American Patriot Holdings notified Plaquemines it would cancel the exclusivity agreement between the two in June.
Sen. Mat Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, executive director of the intermodal authority, said the agreement said American Patriot would only use Plaquemines as a gateway port for international freight carried up the Mississippi River to the central part of the country.
"Our companies would have their freight come into either Plaquemines or whoever Plan B gateway port is, they would unload off international ships to the containers that APH is building, and then bring those here," Pitsch said Friday.
Litrico said American Patriot has been negotiating with shipyards for the construction of container vessels and Plaquemines hadn't finalized procuring the necessary land for the project. This left American Patriot unable to continue negotiating in good faith.
However, Litrico said American Patriot is in discussions with an alternative gateway port in southern Louisiana that can handle a planned first phase of operations, although he didn't disclose the port's name. The phase includes building four vessels with the option of four more.
"If the Port of Plaquemines should happen to finalize the land purchase and achieve several other significant milestones, we will select the best long-term options for our customers, our Midwest partners and for APH," Litrico said.
Pitsch said the first phase entails moving freight up and down the Mississippi River while a second phase involves other, "sister" rivers. The planned intermodal port in Crawford County is included in the latter.
American Patriot expects to be in a position to sign contracts with shipyards to build its vessels within the next 30 days, Litrico said Wednesday. It will finalize other agreements once the shipyard agreements are in place.
Pitsch and Jay White, authority board chairman, both praised American Patriot for terminating its exclusivity agreement with Plaquemines.
"It was a great move to get this project going, keep it going," White said.
The proposed site for the intermodal port is divided into two areas, north and south, and encompasses 443 acres along the Arkansas River on South Arkansas 59 southeast of Van Buren. The undeveloped land is in a floodplain mapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Pitsch said the intermodal authority won't work to acquire the land until American Patriot is ready for the port to be built.
Interstate 49 Project
The authority also heard from State Highway Commissioner Keith Gibson on Wednesday about an extension of Interstate 49 between Barling in Sebastian County and Alma in Crawford County. The Department of Transportation held a groundbreaking for the project in Barling on Thursday.
The project will build 13.6 miles of interstate from Arkansas 22 in Barling to the interchange of Interstate 40 and Interstate 49 at Alma, including a new bridge over the Arkansas River. This will finish a connection from Fort Smith north to Canada by way of Interstate 49 and Interstate 29 and to Duluth, Minn., and the Great Lakes by way of Interstate 49 and Interstate 35. The new road will meet up with a four-lane section of U.S. 71 around Greenwood.
The project is expected to be carried out in multiple phases over the next "several years," according to a Department of Transportation news release. About $270 million from Issue 1, which voters passed in 2020, will go toward it. The measure indefinitely continued the half-percent sales and use tax dedicated to state highways when the current statewide tax sunsets June 30.
Gibson said while Thursday's groundbreaking wouldn't kick off construction on the project, it would be a sign of commitment the project will happen. He noted the Transportation Department has many projects that have been delayed due to supply chain issues stemming from the covid-19 pandemic, among other issues. The department will have to rebid some of the projects because of inflation driving up costs for contractors who won the original bids.
"We're going to see some delays, but hopefully we've crossed that now and then we're going to see fewer and fewer delays as we go forward," Gibson said.
Gibson said he didn't believe delays will be a problem for the Interstate 49 project, which is "well underway" for completion.
The latest estimate put the total cost of the project at about $600-700 million, according to Gibson. Bids for the project are scheduled to be let in September.
The Hope-based Taylor-Hendrix LLC won a $891,453 contract to clear vegetation and debris around the site in Barling that will be an interchange of Interstate 49 and Arkansas 22, the news release states.
The Authority
The Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority plans and develops initiatives for transportation improvements benefiting western Arkansas. It coordinates efforts with units of government and takes a leading role in pursuing public and private investments to achieve such improvements.
Source: Western Arkansas Planning and Development District website