CSX ANNOUNCES ROCKY MOUNT AS THE HOME OF THE CAROLINA CONNECTOR INTERMODAL TERMINAL

Transformational infrastructure project will bring substantial economic development to the Twin Counties.

Rocky Mount, N.C. – The Carolinas Gateway Partnership, in collaboration with Governor McCrory and CSX, announced today that Rocky Mount has been selected as the location for the Carolina Connector intermodal terminal (CCX). The state-of-the art terminal, located in Edgecombe County, will create high-paying jobs in Rocky Mount, deliver improved transportation options for local businesses and drive economic growth for the Twin Counties and across the state.

At a special ceremony at NC Wesleyan College on Tuesday, Governor Pat McCrory announced a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) for the project alongside CSX Chairman and CEO Michael J. Ward, CSX President Clarence W. Gooden, NC Secretary of Transportation Nick Tennyson, NC Secretary of Commerce John Skvarla, Edgecombe County Commission Chairman Leonard Wiggins, President of NC Wesleyan College Dewey Clark, Rocky Mount Mayor David Combs and Carolinas Gateway Partnership CEO Norris Tolson.
“We fought to bring the Carolina Connector to Rocky Mount not only because the terminal will create permanent, high-paying jobs, but also because this positions the Twin Counties and all of eastern North Carolina as a major transportation hub for the entire region,” said Norris Tolson, president and CEO of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership. “Rocky Mount has a proud heritage of being a railroad town and we’re grateful to have CSX as a partner to expand upon their existing presence in the city and build a new, state-of-the-art terminal in Edgecombe County.”

The $270+ million critical infrastructure project will bring up to 300 construction jobs and 300 permanent terminal jobs to Rocky Mount, and more than 1,500 jobs statewide over time. At the terminal, freight containers holding consumer goods are sorted and transferred between trucks and trains by near-silent electric cranes. Freight containers are then routed to their destinations on trucks or other trains.

CSX noted Rocky Mount’s strategic location in the state, its growing industrial market and the company’s existing rail operations and community ties as the deciding factors for the terminal’s location. CCX will provide more than $310 million in public benefits with more than $125 million in increased economic output for the state.

The Carolinas Gateway Partnership is committed to working with CSX and the community to keep lines of communications open. CSX will soon host two open house events for the community to talk directly to CSX representatives and ask questions about the project. The dates, times and locations for the open houses are as follows:

 Wednesday, July 27, 2016
6:00-8:00 pm
Edgecombe County Administrative Building Auditorium
201 Saint Andrew Street, Tarboro, NC
 Thursday, July 28, 2016
6:00-8:00 pm
Nash Community College, Brown Auditorium Business & Industry Center
522 N Old Carriage Rd, Rocky Mount, NC
For more information on the Carolina Connector intermodal terminal, including the project video and fact sheet, visit www.CSX.com/CarolinaIntermodal.