Inland Rail Port From Northeast Georgia To Savannah Getting $2M Federal Grant

An inland port project linking northeast Georgia to the Port of Savannah by rail is getting a $2 million federal grant. 

U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock announced the Department of Commerce grant, which will fund road and infrastructure improvements needed to open the Northeast Georgia Inland Port in Hall County. 

The Georgia Ports Authority has been working since late 2018 on the project, which will move cargo containers of imports and exports by train between the Gainesville area northeast of Atlanta and the docks in Savannah. That’s a trip of about 300 miles (483 kilometers) by truck. 

The ports authority has said the rail terminal, once complete, will have the capacity to move about 150,000 cargo containers each year.

Georgia already has two similar inland rail ports in Murray County near the Tennessee state line and Crisp county in southwest Georgia.