Proposed river harbor could receive help from Washington
Inland harbor would be located west of Lock and Dam 13
A proposed new river harbor that could potentially add more jobs to our area is receiving help from a group in Washington.
The inland, or "slack water," harbor would be located just west of Lock and Dam 13 in Crawford County, across the river from Fort Smith.
"Right down here a little less than a mile we have a natural slack-water harbor, it's an off ramp as the river goes around Fort Smith," said Mat Pitsch, project manager for the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority.
The regional committee has hired Washington, D.C.-based The Normandy Group to help bring public and private investors together to build the new harbor.
Pitsch says the project could attract people such as shipping lines and railroad executives, politicians and high-profile people they would not otherwise get to come to Fort Smith.
The Army Corps of Engineers has to approve the new harbor. Their feasibility study is expected to be released soon.
Pitsch said once built, the harbor will be the only harbor on the Arkansas River that's designed to be a regional distribution point for goods to be shipped to the rest of the country by rail, river, and by interstate.
"What we're talking about doing is a large quantity shipment or containerized type freight that doesn't exist on this river. Things like Houston, things that go through the Panama Canal, L.A., Long Beach; those type places are containerized ports," he said
Once the Army Corps of Engineers decides if it's feasible to build the harbor, it could contribute up to $7 million to get the project started.
The total cost of the slack-water inland harbor is estimated at $23 million.