MoDOT has approved a new river port to create the Heartland Port Authority near Jefferson City.
Callaway County commission, Cole County commission and Jefferson City have been working on the application for two years and will now work to apply for federal funding for the new port. Cheryl Ball is the freight and waterways administrator for MoDOT and said the approval of the port will be very beneficial.
“Having a port here would show benefit to the public, show benefit to the economics of the region and in the end result would allow citizens in Missouri to ship goods in a more cost effective manner. Those are all viable reasons to create a public port authority to benefit Missourians,” she said.
Roger Fischer is the western district Commissioner for Callaway County. He says that there are two potential sites for the port. The first site would be east of Jefferson City next to the Missouri National Guard facility. The other option is north of Jefferson City in Callaway County. The eastern site is estimated to cost between 50 and 60 million dollars. The northern site would cost approximately 10 million dollars.
“A lot of things are coming together right now and it’s one of those things that you take a shot at this opportunity or you pass on it and possibly forever,” Fischer said.
The next step for the Heartland Port Authority is to appoint their port board and apply for federal grant money.
