Muscatine is working on plans to provide eastern Iowa and western Illinois with greater access to world markets. City staff are looking into the feasibility of building an inter-modal container port to transfer freight between barges, rail, and trucks.
Community Development Director, Dave Gobin, says there is currently no port like this along the Mississippi River north of Saint Louis.
He's already received preliminary support for the idea from major companies such as Monsanto, Kent, SSAB, and Alcoa. The next step is to raise some money, and then study possible sites along the river, in and around Muscatine.
Gobin says one recent study shows freight shipments by truck will increase dramatically in the coming years, and that'll mean higher costs for road and bridge maintenance, plus increased traffic congestion and accidents. An inter-modal port could reduce some of these costs and problems.