Kansas officials announce transload shipping finalists

The Kansas Department of Transportation and the Kansas Turnpike Authority transload facility site analysis team recently announced that they have chosen seven finalists for a proposed Kansas transload shipping center site.

The names of the finalists are Great Bend, El Dorado (Refinery Road site), Abilene, Garden City (U.S. 50 Industrial Park), Concordia, Norton, and the Great Plains Industrial Park located south of Parsons. The finalists were chosen from a pool of 111 proposals submitted.

Transloading is the process of shifting goods from one transportation mode to another. In this case, transloading occurs between the trucks and the rails.

A transload facility can improve operations by merging the positive benefits of shipping by local/short haul trucking and rail. This makes transportation more cost-effective and flexible for companies and customers, many of whom do not have access to local freight rail services. It is also beneficial for customers who require more warehousing.

“I’m pleased that so many communities in every region of the state submitted proposals,” Mike King, secretary of transportation and director of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, said. “A transload facility has the potential to not only lower shipping costs, it is a job creator and provides economic development opportunities for the export of Kansas products.”