Virginia Avenue Tunnel

2011 Project News

November Public Meeting Comment Period to End January 30 Posted 12.12.2011

The comment period for materials presented at the November 30 public meeting will end Monday, January 30, 2012. Please note that this comment period is only for materials presented at the November public meeting. General comments on the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project can be submitted throughout the NEPA process to contact@virginiaavenuetunnel.com or via mail:

Steve Plano
Parsons Brinckerhoff
1401 K Street NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20005

November 30, 2011 Public Meeting Boards Available for Download Posted 12.01.2011

Presentation materials from the November 30, 2011 public meeting to discuss project concepts are now available for download on this site within the following sections: Public Involvement (www.virginiaavenuetunnel.com/public-involvement) and Project Resources (www.virginiaavenuetunnel.com/project-resources).

Responses to Public Questions and Comments Posted to FAQ Section Posted 11.29.2011

The project team's responses to themed questions and comments received to-date have been posted to this site within the FAQ section (www.virginiaavenuetunnel.com/faq). This section will be updated in the future as additional questions about the project are received.

Public Alternative Meeting Virginia Avenue Tunnel Environmental Assessment Project Alternatives & Section 106 Evaluation Set For November 30, 2011 Posted 11.16.2011

As a follow-up to the public scoping meeting held on September 14, 2011, a second public meeting will be held to discuss alternatives for this project on:

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Nationals Park
1500 South Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003-1507

This public meeting will include a formal presentation, question and answer session, and open house displays. The formal presentation will start at 7:00 p.m.

Free parking will be provided at parking Lot C, located at First and N Streets, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Parking Lot C is attached to the park and conveniently located adjacent to Center Field Gate. The Metro exit (Navy Yard, Green Line) is located a half block away from Center Field Gate. In addition, free shuttle transportation services will be provided between the Arthur Capper Senior Apartments (900 5th Street SE), Van Ness Elementary School (1150 5th Street SE) and the Nationals Ballpark. For more information about the free shuttle service call (202) 681-0646.

Both verbal and written comments will be taken at the meeting. Comment forms will be available at the public meeting and can be submitted on-site, via provided self-addressed/postage paid envelopes, or by email to contact@virginiaavenuetunnel.com. Comments from the September scoping meeting will be categorized and posted in advance of the November public meeting.

DDOT is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs and services on the basis of race, color, national origin or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation), please email contact@virginiaavenuetunnel.com or leave a message at (202) 681-0646. These services will be provided free of charge.

For more information please contact:

Steve Plano
Parsons Brinckerhoff
1401 K Street NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20005

CSX invests another $160 million into National Gateway project Logistics Management Posted 05.19.2011

By Jeff Berman

Class I railroad carrier CSX announced this week that it will make a $160 million investment over the next several years to help complete an ambitious railroad infrastructure project, the National Gateway.

The National Gateway is a roughly $850 million public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure initiative designed to provide a highly efficient freight transportation link between the Mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest. It was first unveiled by CSX in May 2008.

“Through the National Gateway, CSX and its public partners are working together to vastly improve the quality and flexibility of the eastern rail network,” said Michael J. Ward, CSX chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “With today’s new $160 million commitment, CSX will have obligated a total of about $575 million over several years to better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports.”

Along with CSX’ investment into the National Gateway, states, including Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and federal partners are investing more than $280 million in the project, in an effort to invest in the quality of transportation infrastructure that is key for America’s competitiveness, according to National Gateway officials.

They added that the majority of the announced $160 million investment by CSX will be used to expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C. and provide double-stack train clearances in Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

In February, the National Gateway launched operations of its new Northeast Ohio Terminal. National Gateway officials said that the Northeast Ohio Terminal is the cornerstone of a new double-stack freight rail corridor between East Coast sea ports such as the Port of Baltimore and the Midwest, adding that it employs more than 200 full-time employees, and will serve as the transfer point for hundreds of thousands of freight containers annually.

CSX will gradually transition customer shipments through the new terminal over the next few months. Once all of the transitions are complete, the Northwest Ohio facility is expected to handle a throughput capacity, including block swaps and lifts, of nearly 2 million containers per year. Blocks are multiple rail cars with a common destination, and lifts refer to container handling between rail cars and trucks.

When the entire National Gateway project is completed, CSX officials said it will provide greater capacity for product shipments in and out of the Midwest, reduce truck traffic on congested highways, as well as create thousands of jobs that will directly or indirectly support the National Gateway. The company explained that the National Gateway will be comprised of the following: the building or expansion of several high-capacity, job-producing intermodal terminals where product shipments are exchanged between trucks and trains; and CSX collaborating with state and federal government agencies to create double-stack clearances beneath public overpasses along the railroad, which allow each train to carry roughly twice as many cargo boxes.

The National Gateway will focus on three existing rail corridors that run through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia: the I-70/I-76 Corridor between Washington, D.C. and northwest Ohio via Pittsburgh; the I-95 Corridor between North Carolina and Baltimore via Washington, D.C.; and the Carolina Corridor between Wilmington and Charlotte, North Carolina.

CSX executives have stated that this effort will highlight the effectiveness of intermodal transportation, in terms of economic and efficiency gain, noting that “intermodal transportation combines the efficiency of rail with the flexibility of trucks …and as our nation faces combined pressures from an increasingly globalized economy and deteriorating transportation infrastructure, it is critical that we work together to bolster this pillar of our national economy."

And industry analysts have told LM that the National Gateway continues the model to bring in a wide variety of constituents to support efforts to add infrastructure capacity, as well as highlight how intermodal cooperation is critical both now and in the future to boost freight movement in the National Gateway’s corridors.

CSX Commits Funding to National Gateway, Virginia Avenue Tunnel Expansion Project Posted 05.19.2011

The Hill is Home (Online)

By Kyra Deblaker-Gebhard

CSX announced on Wednesday that the company now has the funds and the federal partner needed to begin the Virginia Avenue tunnel expansion project. CSX will contribute $160 million over the next several years to complete the National Gateway project, with the majority of the investment being used to expand the 107-year-old Virginia Avenue tunnel in Southeast. The company also announced its federal partner in the project: the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

What does this mean for the community? The project is now set to begin the environmental impact studies process, also known as the NEPA process, which will now be lead by FHWA with support from DDOT. The NEPA process includes a “scoping” meeting, the first of two meetings that CSX and FHWA will hold with community members as part of the NEPA process. At the meeting, which is expected to take place in the next few months, community members will once again learn about the project’s purpose. The meeting also marks the start of the 30-day comment period, which offers community members the opportunity to voice their concerns about the project on the record.

From there, CSX will hold an “alternatives” meeting, where project adjustments and alternatives, based on impact statements and studies, will be addressed. At this meeting community members will finally see plans for the project, which was first proposed in the fall of 2009.

Once the NEPA process is complete, CSX will obtain the permits needed to begin work on the tunnel.

CSX spokesman Steve Flippin estimates that the project could take anywhere from four to six years to complete—from the early stages of the NEPA process to the project’s completion. CSX anticipates that the NEPA process could take approximately one year to complete, meaning construction could begin as early as 2012 and last through 2015, with CSX then committed to maintain established green spaces developed post-construction for four to five years following the project’s completion.

Look for more information about the Virginia Ave. project in the weeks and months to come.

CSX to spend $160M on N.E. infrastructure Posted 05.19.2011

The Jacksonville Business Journal (FL)

By Mark Szakonyi

CSX Corp. announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $160 million over the next several years to complete a project that will better connect the mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest.

The Jacksonville-based railway said in a news release that the majority of the money will be spent to expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C., and create double-stack train clearances in Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. CSX’s public-private partnership to improve its rail system, known as the National Gateway, is expected to cost about $850 million, with more than $280 million coming from state pockets and the federal government.

“With today’s new $160 million commitment, CSX will have obligated a total of about $575 million over several years to better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports,” CSX CEO, President and Chairman Michael Ward said in the release.

At its investor and financial analyst conference in Detroit the same day, CSX said it expected to reinvest an average of 18 percent of its revenues back into its business through 2015. The company said it invested $8.3 billion between 2006 and 2010.

“CSX is ideally positioned to meet the growing transportation demand in this country,” Ward said. “Expansion in the U.S. economy, global trade and CSX’s substantial investments in its infrastructure mean more things will move on our highly efficient freight rail network.”

CSX National Gateway commitment rises to $575 million Posted 05.19.2011

Railway Age (Online)

CSX Corp. announced Wednesday that it will invest $160 million over the next several years to complete the National Gateway project, bringing its total commitment to $575 million. Total project costs are estimated at $850million, of which state and federal funding will provide than $280 million.

CSX said the new allocation will expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C. and provide double-stack train clearances in Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The project is designed to move more of CSX’s customers’ freight on double-stack trains between the Midwest and the Ports of Baltimore ,Virginia, and Wilmington. “This will be especially important as the Panama Canal expansion brings more traffic through these ports,” said the railroad.

CSX to provide another $160 million for National Gateway initiative Posted 05.19.2011

Progressive Railroading (Online)

Yesterday, CSX Corp. announced plans to invest $160 million during the next several years in the National Gateway intermodal initiative.

The Class I now has obligated about $575 million over the next several years for the public-private partnership project to “better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports,” said CSX Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward in a prepared statement.

The National Gateway initiative calls for establishing a double-stack corridor between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwestern markets by upgrading three rail corridors running through six states and the District of Columbia, and building and expanding intermodal terminals. The initiative is designed to shorten transit times and expand shippers’ access to rail services, as well as reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel usage. Total project costs are estimated at $850 million, and federal and state partners are providing more than $280 million, according to CSX.

Most of the $160 million investment announced by the Class I will be used to expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C., and provide double-stack train clearances in Maryland, West Virginia and D.C.

"The completion of the National Gateway and Virginia Avenue Tunnel will help improve the flow of rail traffic through the district and the region,” said Terry Bellamy, interim director of the District Department of Transportation.

CSX investing $160 million to improve freight flow Posted 05.19.2011

The Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)

By Peter Bacque

CSX Corp., the second-largest publicly traded U.S. railroad, said it will invest $160 million to improve its ability to move freight from the Port of Virginia at Hampton Roads to the Midwest.

The improvements during the next several years will complete CSX's $860 million National Gateway project, creating a more efficient freight transportation link between the mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest, CSX Regional Vice President Quintin Kendall told the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Wednesday.

CSX is timing the improvements to be able to carry the expected sharp increase in seaborne cargo moving through the state as a result of the Panama Canal's expansion in 2015, Kendall said.

"It's going to drive rail prices down," Kendall said.

Most of CSX's $160 million will be used to expand the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, and provide double-stack train clearances in Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Virginia has put an additional $42 million into the project.

CSX carries intermodal freight containers on its trains to and from Hampton Roads, but overhead clearances largely limit that traffic to trains carrying one container per car, called a single stack.

Double-stacked trains, which carry two containers per car, can deliver more freight with fewer trains, dramatically increasing efficiency while reducing rail line and highway congestion, CSX said.

To carry double-stacked containers, trains need 21 feet of clearance above the tracks, the company said.

As part of the project, CSX will eliminate two now-closed footbridges across its tracks in Richmond, one at Blue Shingles Lane in North Richmond and one at Platinum Road in South Richmond, Kendall said.

CSX also will build a rail support yard at Kilby in Suffolk, outside the Hampton Road ports.

"The National Gateway, with its improvements to the Virginia Avenue Tunnel, Kilby Yard and along the I-95 rail corridor, will open new business opportunities for the Port of Virginia and position the commonwealth to be even more competitive in the global economy," said Sean T. Connaughton, Virginia's secretary of transportation.

"The improvements on this corridor will also help address highway congestion and complement Virginia's passenger rail initiatives," Connaughton said.

The Gateway initiative is a public-private partnership to invest nearly $860 million in rail infrastructure and intermodal terminal projects in six states and the District of Columbia to speed the flow of goods between the U.S.' eastern and western rail networks.

"Through the National Gateway, CSX and its public partners are working together to vastly improve the quality and flexibility of the eastern rail network," said Michael J. Ward, CSX's chairman, president and CEO.

"With today's new $160 million commitment," Ward said, "CSX will have obligated a total of about $575 million over several years to better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports."

In a similar public-private undertaking, Norfolk Southern railroad last fall opened its Heartland Corridor between Hampton Roads and Chicago, raising tunnel clearances on the rail line to allow transport of double-stacked containers.

In other business, the state Transportation Board:

•Learned that, so far in the 2011 fiscal year, state transportation revenue has grown by 4.2 percent, running well ahead of the official estimated growth rate of 3 percent.

And despite the spike in gas prices, fiscal year-to-date motor fuels tax collections are up 3 percent, staying in line with the expected annual growth of 3.1 percent.

•Awarded an $8.9 million contract to Branscome Inc. of Williamsburg to repave state Route 288 from state Route 10 to Bailey Bridge Road in Chesterfield County.

The "Quiet Pavement Technologies" pilot project will use a special asphalt mix to reduce tire noise. Work is to be completed by Dec. 1.

CSX pledges $160M for tunnel expansion Posted 05.19.2011

The Washington Business Journal (DC)

A century-old train tunnel in the District will be upgraded, after railroad company CSX pledged $160 million on Wednesday to help ease a major bottleneck that currently limits cargo passing through the Washington region, the Washington Examiner reported.

The money means that the freight shipper can start a long-sought process to expand the Virginia Avenue Tunnel that runs from Second Street to 11th Street just below the Capitol in Southeast. The project will widen and increase the height of the tunnel so trains can carry a double-stacked load of shipping containers, according to the Examiner.

CSX paying for Virginia Avenue tunnel Posted 05.19.2011

Greater Greater Washington (Online)

By Eric Fidler

CSX has decided to put $160 million more of its own money into a project to replace the Virginia Avenue freight tunnel. The tunnel would get a second track and higher clearance to fit double-stack trains. (JDLand)

CSX adds $160 million to National Gateway project Posted 05.18.2011

The Associated Press (Online)

Railroad operator CSX Corp. said on Wednesday that it will spend another $160 million on the National Gateway, a rail upgrade project that will allow it to run trains with double-stacked cars to run from the East Coast to the Midwest.

The new money brings CSX's spending plans for the project to $575 million over several years. State and federal aid is expected to bring total spending on the project to about $850 million, the company said.

Most of the new spending announced on Wednesday will expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington.

This article also appeared in the following outlets:

Bloomberg BusinessWeek (Online)

R&D Magazine (Online)

CSX pledges $160m more to expand Virginia Ave. tunnel Posted 05.18.2011

The Washington Examiner (DC)

By Kytja Weir

"It creates additional efficiencies," CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said. "It enables you to handle additional cargo without having to add trains."

Most people likely will never notice the tunnel because passenger trains don't use it and it lies in the shadow of the Southeast Freeway near the Navy Yard. But it provides a key link to get cargo in and out of the area.

CSX also says the project will have other benefits as the growing Washington region requires more products -- food, building materials and coal, for example. Every fully loaded double-stacked train carries the equivalent of 280 trucks-worth of cargo, Sullivan said, meaning less congestion on local roadways and less need for additional highways.

The tunnel is part of the multiyear National Gateway project to improve the rail network across the mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Originally, CSX had planned to pay about $393 million of the $850 million initiative, while seeking federal stimulus dollars to supplement other state and federal funds.

But it lost on part of its stimulus funding requests. Now, with Wednesday's pledge of money, the company is paying $575 million of National Gateway costs.

CSX now can begin a federal environmental review process. The company hopes to complete the work by 2015, in time for the expansion of the Panama Canal that will expand the flow of freight to the East Coast, Sullivan said.

The challenge is trying to expand the tunnel while running trains through the area.

It also means potential headaches for the surrounding Capitol Hill neighbors during construction. Residents already have been dealing with construction hassles associated with the rebuilding of the 11th Street Bridge, which has some two years left of construction.

But new D.C. Department of Transportation Director Terry Bellamy said the city plans to work with CSX to minimize the effect of the construction on the neighborhood.

CSX Funding the Virginia Avenue Tunnel, NEPA Process to Begin Posted 05.18.2011

JDLand (Online)

CSX announced today that it will be investing $160 million of its own monies in its National Gateway project, with most of that money going toward the funding of the expansion of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel, the 107-year-old structure that runs beneath Virginia Avenue from 2nd Street SE to 12th Street SE. With this decision, the company will start moving toward design and construction of the project, first by going through the NEPA process of environmental impact studies, which apparently is going to be spearheaded by the Federal Highways Administration (with support and assistance from DDOT, according to CSX).

Within the next few months there will be an initial public "scoping" meeting, where the parties lay out exactly what needs to be done with the tunnel and why. After a 30-day comment period expires, an "alternatives" meeting will then be scheduled, and this will be the meeting that residents will be the most interested in, because this will be when the design options for the project will first be made public, and will be the stage where CSX will at last answer the questions that so many people who live on or near Virginia Avenue have wanted answered since this project first really hit the public consciousness in late 2009. (Will the trench be completely uncovered? Will we be able to get into our alley? How will firetrucks service our block? What about noise? What about dust? What about traffic? What about the 6th Street exit off the freeway?) And at a meeting this afternoon, representatives from CSX didn't suddenly decide to answer any of those sorts of questions, deflecting them as ones that will be addressed at the alternatives meeting.

The CSX briefers today emphasized that they feel "sooner is better" for getting the project underway, with the expansion of the Panama Canal launching in early 2015 being one of the drivers of their decision to invest their own dollars rather than continuing to search for federal or state monies to pay for the project. (And, perhaps to ward off an expected line of criticism, they also made sure to mention that using their own money was in no way an attempt to sidestep NEPA.)

There's no firm date as to when construction might begin, owing to the reality that federal reviews don't always happen on a metronome-like timetable, and that then there will be permitting processes and other agency reviews (such as going through the National Capital Planning Commission and the city's historic preservation reviews). But it would seem that spring 2012 would be a likely target time if there are no big roadblocks thrown up, especially given that Panama Canal 2015 date and that CSX says they expect the project to take about three years.

With other construction happening at or near the tunnel's path, including the rehab of 225 Virginia, the 11th Street Bridges reconstruction, and perhaps the start of some portion of William C. Smith's mixed-use project at 2nd and H, the very northern portion of the neighborhood will certainly continue to be knee-deep in heavy machinery for a number of years (and CSX says that they are coordinating with those other projects).

If you are just tuning in and aren't up to speed, CSX is wanting to add a second track to the tunnel, ending its status as one of the last (if not the last?) stretch of single track in CSX's east coast operations. They also plan to lower the floor of the tunnel to allow for double-stacked trains, vastly increasing the amount of cargo they can move through their system. (You can read their press release for what they consider to be the benefits of this expansion and all of the $850 million National Gateway project.)

As I've said, there isn't much in the way of specifics as to how exactly the project will be configured, other than we know there will be a parallel track running in an open trench, and that Virginia Avenue itself will be closed, but with bridges across the construction at 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th to allow the movement of north-south traffic. (This would mean that vehicles exiting the Southeast Freeway at 6th Street would need to turn north under the freeway to then move toward any final destination.)

My post from a walking tour of the project last July has some of the (few) details so far announced on the project, but focus will now turn to the NEPA public meetings as the point where the real specifics of the project and its impacts will be revealed, and where residents will be able to voice any and all concerns, problems, anger, threats of litigation, etc. Until then, feel free to use the comments here for all that! You can also read my previous CSX posts for more background and details on the project up to now.

CSX Directs $160 Million to National Gateway Posted 05.18.2011

The Journal of Commerce (Online)

By Joseph Bonney

CSX Transportation said it will invest an additional $160 million over the next several years to complete the National Gateway between the mid-Atlantic and Midwest.

Most of the money will be used to expand and improve the century-old Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C., and provide stacktrain clearances in Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The National Gateway is a public-private partnership will clear 61 obstructions and build or expand six intermodal facilities along CSX's network in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the District of Columbia. It will provide stacktrain service to ports in Baltimore, Virginia and Wilmington, Del.

The project will cost a total of $850 million. State and federal governments are providing $280 million.

CSX’s announcement of the National Gateway funding came as CEO Michael Ward told an investor conference that the railroad is targeting double-digit growth in operating income and earnings share through 2015, driven by growth in intermodal and coal traffic.

CSX Corp. To Invest $160 Million In The Coming Years For National Gateway Project Posted 05.18.2011

RTT News (Online)

Transportation company CSX Corp. said Wednesday it will invest $160 million over the next several years to complete 'one of the most important transportation projects in the country ' - the National Gateway.

According to CSX, this project will deliver substantial public benefits, including thousands of jobs.

"Through the National Gateway, CSX and its public partners are working together to vastly improve the quality and flexibility of the eastern rail network," said CEO Michael Ward.

"With today's new $160 million commitment, CSX will have obligated a total of about $575 million over several years to better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports.", Ward added.

The company said the total project costs about $850 million, and state and federal partners are investing more than $280 million.

The National Gateway investment will be made over several years and, taken together, represent one of the largest project investments in company history. The amounts are included in the company's long-term capital plans, CSX said.

Port of Baltimore, CSX tout key projects Posted 05.18.2011

The Baltimore Business Journal (MD)

By Scott Dance

CSX Corp. has put up $160 million to complete a project that, along with two other key projects, will allow double-stacking of container cargo on trains between Maryland and the Midwest.

A top CSX official announced the news to a group of more than 100 people who do business at the Port of Baltimore, during a Wednesday event that also featured Gov. Martin O’Malley.

O’Malley and CSX executive Fredrik Eliasson spoke of growing opportunities at the port in coming years through the rail expansion project, known as National Gateway, as well as through a new 50-foot ship berth at Seagirt Marine Terminal in Dundalk and a planned new intermodal transportation facility in Howard, Anne Arundel or Prince George’s County.

CSX (NYSE: CSX) has put up about $575 million in all and has received $280 million from federal and state governments for the project, which includes upgrades to tunnels between Baltimore and a new CSX facility in northwest Ohio. The project is slated to give the Port of Baltimore better access to markets including Cleveland, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh, said Eliasson, CSX’s vice president for emerging markets.

Both O’Malley and officials from CSX and Ports America Chesapeake, which signed a 50-year lease to operate Seagirt last year, used the event as an opportunity to encourage port-related businesses to take advantage of the increasing cargo capacity the projects will bring.

The state and CSX are in the midst of considering public feedback on four sites CSX Corp. has put up $160 million to complete a project that, along with two other key projects, will allow double-stacking of container cargo on trains between Maryland and the Midwest.

A top CSX official announced the news to a group of more than 100 people who do business at the Port of Baltimore, during a Wednesday event that also featured Gov. Martin O’Malley.

CSX has put up about $575 million in all and has received $280 million from federal and state governments for the project, which includes upgrades to tunnels between Baltimore and a new CSX facility in northwest Ohio. The project is slated to give the Port of Baltimore better access to markets including Cleveland, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh, said Eliasson, CSX’s vice president for emerging markets.

The state and CSX are in the midst of considering public feedback on four sites proposed for the intermodal terminal, which will allow cargo to be shuttled out of Seagirt to the intermodal facility where it can be double-stacked and shipped out to the Midwest. Low-clearance tunnels including the Howard Street tunnel downtown currently prevent double-stacking of cargo containers.

Part of Ports America’s lease is also a requirement that it build a 50-foot berth to accommodate larger ships that could be bringing more container cargo to Baltimore once the Panama Canal is widened in 2014.

“We want to help and encourage you to leverage the power that’s coming with this new berth,” O’Malley told attendees.

CSX’s commitment of the final $160 million for the National Gateway project means it will begin moving forward, with scheduled completion in 2015.

The 50-foot berth, meanwhile, is about halfway completed and is ahead of schedule. Ports America broke ground on the project in March 2010. It could be completed two years or more before the Panama Canal widening is completed in 2014, said Christopher Lee, managing director of Highstar Capital, owner of Ports America Chesapeake.

“It will provide new opportunities for our companies as well as additional profits,” he said. The port’s ability to handle larger ships improves economies of scale for businesses, he said — meaning that for the same amount of effort and resources, they can return larger profits.

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