Big Sandy River Deepening Part of Prichard Project

The Corps of Engineers will study the feasibility of enlarging the Intermodal Facility in Prichard West Virginia. Expansion of the facility would require extending the nine-foot-deep shipping channel an additional seven miles south to Prichard from the Ohio River. The lower nine miles is now at nine feet.

The deepening will allow barge traffic to the proposed facility.

The study was announced on September 24 by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall D-WV.

Part of the Heartland Corridor Project the Prichard Intermodal Facility is a cargo-transfer station to be located along the Norfolk Southern rail line in Wayne County West Virginia. This facility would give industries in the West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio area access to freight container service and access to international rail lines.

In 2005 Congressman Rahall was instrumental in winning Congressional passage of the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) which authorized $90 million for the Heartland Corridor. Congressman Rahall now serves as Vice Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which authorized the study.