Grant will fund study of Southern Utah multimodal logistics center
The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) and Cedar City-Iron County Economic Development have received a grant funded by the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, Pres. Joe Biden’s signature infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this year. The $445,000 grant came from the U.S. Department of Transportation and will finance a study of creating an intermodal logistics center in Southern Utah.
The first phase of the joint project includes a market assessment and business case analysis for the center and accompanying infrastructure needs, UIPA said in a release. The panel said such projects will help reduce truck traffic on Utah highways by transitioning more cargo to rail for local businesses.
“This will significantly impact air quality, improve mobility and add resiliency to Utah’s logistics infrastructure,” the UIPA statement said.
“We are very excited to receive this grant from USDOT and are looking forward to developing a multimodal logistics hub in southwestern Utah,” said Danny Stewart, director of Cedar City-Iron County Economic Development. “With support from the Utah Inland Port Authority, Iron County, Cedar City and Utah’s southwestern counties, we are looking to strengthen regional supply chains and to bring great jobs to our corner of the state.”
“Support from the RAISE grant program enables the Utah Inland Port Authority to connect strategic locations within Utah, like Cedar City and all of southwestern Utah, to coastal ports and other logistics hubs across the country. It brings jobs to rural areas, creates efficiencies within the statewide system and enables innovation in smart and sustainable logistics technologies. This is yet another critical step in the process of future-proofing Utah’s links to the global supply chain,” said Jack Hedge, president of the Utah Inland Port Authority.