Weber County Commission OKs bid for West Weber zones to join Inland Port
A pair of zones totaling 9,000 acres in the western part of Weber County will be considered for an inland port by the Utah Inland Port Authority board.
The board was scheduled to hear about the draft plan for the West Weber inland port at its meeting Jan. 10. at the Utah State Capitol. Board policy calls for proposed port areas to be presented at one meeting and then be up for approval at the following meeting.
The Weber County Commission recently adopted a resolution requesting the establishment of the West Weber area, which would be the state’s ninth port area. In the resolution, the commission said that “Weber County residents can enjoy tremendous benefits from an inland port in the Proposed Area, including the creation of new jobs, boosting the local economy, access to state and federal resources, and assisting with the development of the West Weber Industrial District and Renewable Energy Hub.”
The area, it said, is expected to not only meet the business needs of those within the area, but also contribute to the needs of the immediate community and the region as a whole.
The proposed area is east of Promontory Point, near the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake and consists of two zones: the Little Mountain zone mostly north of the Union Pacific rail line and 900 South and west of 6700 West; and the Weber Bend zone north of the UP rail line and generally east of 6150 West straddling 900 South.
UIPA documents indicate that economic development incentives would generally favor advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, distribution and logistics, data centers and renewable energy.
The area has access to Interstate 15, Interstate 84, U.S. 89, Union Pacific rail and a nearby regional airport, and is a future site for a connection with the West Davis Corridor. UIPA documents indicate that Weber County has 90 rail-served customers, including Western Zirconium Inc. inside the proposed project area. That company is one of the largest rail-served customers by carload volume in Utah, the documents say.
If approved, West Weber would join eight other project areas in the state: an area in Salt Lake County, including in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City and parts of West Valley City and Magna; the Iron Springs Inland Port near Cedar City; the Verk Industrial Park project area in Spanish Fork; the Golden Spike project area in Garland, Tremonton, Brigham City and other parts of Box Elder County; the Central Utah Agri-Park in three parts of Juab County; the Mineral Mountains project area, consisting of four zones in Beaver County in parts of Beaver City, Beaver County and Milford City; the Tooele Valley area; and the Twenty Wells area in Grantsville in Tooele County.