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October 13, 2005

NORTHWEST TENNESSEE PORT TO BECOME REALITY

Tanner, Port Authority, Corps of Engineers Sign Contract

- Port to Bring New Industry, Over 5,600 Jobs -

Congressman John Tanner, center, discusses the port with Col. Charles Smithers, left, of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, and Jimmy Williamson, Chairman of the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority.

TIPTONVILLE, TN  – West Tennessee will soon be home to a major slack-water port, Congressman John Tanner announced today at a contract-signing ceremony with the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Construction of the facility at Cates Landing in Lake County is expected to begin within the year.

Initial economic impact studies indicate the port and adjacent industrial park will boost the regional agricultural economy and attract new industry to the area, creating more than 5,600 new jobs – 3,000 direct jobs and more than 2,600 indirect positions.

Congressman Tanner, left, and Senator Lamar Alexander visit the future port site in August.
The two worked together to secure federal support for the port's development.

“This is the biggest economic development project we’ve seen in northwest Tennessee in my lifetime,” said Congressman Tanner, who has been active in coordinating federal support for the project. “Because of our prime location and great water and land resources, this growth will put us on the map of the world’s major cargo-shipping points.”

 

A slack-water harbor is where a steady level of still water makes for easier loading and unloading than in parts of the river with fast-moving currents. The Cates Landing site on the Mississippi River features a natural slack-water harbor and is near other important shipping routes:

  • Approximately 25 miles from Interstate 155, which has direct connections to I-40, I-55, I-24 and Purchase Parkway

  • Approximately 28 miles from future route of I-69, which will itself serve 17 of the nation’s top 25 seaports

  •  Approximately 30 miles from railroad lines connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico

“Our whole region will benefit from the port,” said Jimmy Williamson, Chairman of the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority. “Industries looking for a new place to develop will now give serious consideration to moving to West Tennessee because of the resources we are able to provide.”

The project would not be possible without the work of area leaders, Tanner said.

“I want to thank the port authority, state and local officials and business leaders whose long, hard work on this idea is making it a reality,” Tanner said. “We have gotten great support at the local, state and federal levels. I would like to specifically thank Gov. Phil Bredesen and Sen. Lamar Alexander for their instrumental help in building this new success story for West Tennessee.”

Tanner represents Tennessee’s 8th Congressional district in West and Middle Tennessee.

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Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714

     

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