Officials work toward statistical port designation
Trending
WEIRTON -- Officials from West Virginia and Ohio are coming together for a project they hope will encourage economic development throughout the region.
Several business and government representatives from both sides of the river gathered at the Millsop Community Center Tuesday to hear about a proposal for the establishment of a new statistical port district in the Ohio Valley.
"This is an important project," Ron Coles, of W.R. Coles & Associates, a consultant firm assisting the project, explained. "This will be good for both states and the region."
Undertaken by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the West Virginia Department of Transportation, establishing a statistical port district will allow the recording of tonnage data for waterborne commerce on the Ohio River.
The proposed Mid-Ohio River Valley Port District would include nine counties in West Virginia, from Hancock to Jackson, and seven counties in Ohio, from Columbiana to Meigs. It would close a gap currently existing between the Pittsburgh Port District and the Huntington Tri-State Port District.
Coles noted the district, if created, would not have any employees or authority, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collecting and reporting the cargo levels.
Among the inland river ports, Cincinnati ranks as first in the nation with 39 million tons of cargo passing through, according to data from 2018, Huntington Tri-State is third with 34 million tons and Pittsburgh is fourth with 22 million tons.
Currently, efforts on the port creation are focused on gathering letters of support and filing a petition with the Arm Corps.
"It has to be pushed up from the local level," Coles said.
The petition is scheduled to be filed in May, with a possible approval of the port district in 10 to 12 months.
Letters of support for the project are to be sent to Col. Jason A. Evers, PE, PMP, District Commander, Huntington District U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers, 502 Eighth St., Huntington, WV 25701-2070.
Copies of any letters or resolutions also should be sent to Mark Locker, AICP, Manager; Freight, Maritime and Logistics, ODOT Office of Statewide Planning and Research, 1980 W. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio, 43223 MS 3280
Digital copies also can be emailed to mark.locker@dot.ohio.gov and ron@wrcoles.com.
Tuesday's meeting was arranged with assistance from the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. A second meeting is set for today at the offices of the Buckeye Hills Regional Council in Marietta.
(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com, and followed via Twitter @CHowellWDT)