Ports Of Indiana: Southeast Indiana Port Idea "Very Intriguing"

By Mike Perleberg A port such as this one on the Ohio River in Jeffersonville could be coming to southeast Indiana under the newly announced Fourth Port Plan. Photo courtesy of Ports of Indiana. (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - It’s being called the Fourth Port Plan. In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Indiana Governor Mike Pence called for Ports of Indiana – a statewide port authority operating three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan – to vigorously study adding a new port on the Ohio River in southeast Indiana. A new port could “unleash enormous economic investment” in the region, the governor told a statewide audience. Dearborn County Commissioner Kevin Lynch said Wednesday that the Pence’s mention of a new port signals that the project is a priority in the governor’s office. State Rep. Randy Frye (R-Greensburg) has been working for at least four years on the project that could create thousands of new jobs over time. RELATED: Governor Wants New Port In SEI; Local Officials Say Investment Will Be Huge Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper said in a statement Wednesday that the organization looks forward to working with community leaders in southeast Indiana as well as public and private partners to pursue the next steps for the potential development of a new port. “It’s very gratifying that Governor Pence sees our ports and marine highways as vital parts of his transportation, infrastructure and economic development initiatives,” said Cooper. “He has asked us to explore the development of a new port in a southeast Indiana area that has long been very intriguing to us and is highly worthy of a closer look. We share the Governor’s belief that there is tremendous opportunity for Indiana to build on its past port successes and further leverage its access to railroads, highways, and the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio River to generate economic development opportunities in a new region of our state.” Ports of Indiana already operates two ports on the Ohio River in Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville. They opened in 1976 and 1985, respectively. Today, those two ports have a combined economic impact of $2 billion per year and support 15,000 jobs, according to the agency. Cooper said Ports of Indiana would like to build on its success and further leverage synergies between its existing ports. “We feel fortunate that our Governor and our state legislators have been very supportive of our port system and truly understand the benefits of having a robust multimodal transportation network that supports business growth and economic development,” Cooper said. A news release from Ports of Indiana says its mission is to develop and maintain a world-class port system that operates as an agile, strategically-driven, self-funded enterprise dedicated to growing Indiana’s economy. The three ports were created with money appropriated by the state, but ongoing operations and capital investments are self-funded by the ports through operating revenues. Frye said Wednesday that there are two locations in southeast Indiana being considered for the location of the proposed fourth port. When asked by email, Ports of Indiana did not provide a timeline for announcing which location it might choose. RELATED STORIES: Governor Wants New Port In SEI; Local Officials Say Investment Will Be Huge