Railway. Located on 200 acres just west of the Talmadge Bridge, it dated back to the 1870s, and once handled ship traffic, and passenger and freight service for four railroads. The state also pitched in. In 1956, Bruns- wick and Bainbridge were designated as state ports. In 1961, $16 million in expansion funds were approved. A year later, improvements were made at both Ocean Terminal and Garden City Terminal, and the GPA purchased Colonel’s Island at Brunswick for $1.1 million. Over the next 58 years, the GPA advanced in deliberate, yet dramatic, fashion to the very forefront of any conversation about American seagoing trade and commerce. The GPA boasts the largest single-con- tainer terminal in North America with service from two Class I railroads — Norfolk Southern and CSX. It is also served by the largest concentration of import distribution centers on the East Coast and offers immediate access to two major interstates — I-16 and I-95. In addition, Savannah’s Ocean Terminal will be partially converted to handle containers in order to improve service. Renovations at Ocean Terminal, located just downriver from the main contain- er port, will include a new truck gate, upgraded container yards and rub- ber-tired gantry cranes for container operations. “This exciting new development will allow the GPA to continue to meet and exceed the needs of our customers,” Lynch said. Construction is currently under way on the upgrades. Phase I of the Ocean Terminal container yard is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Destined for the Garden City Terminal, the cranes served as a stately sym- bol of this status. As they made their slow passage up the Savannah River, they passed where Southeastern Ship building once stood, and where more than 40,000 people once labored. During World War II, that yard con- structed and launched 88 Liberty ships. Along River Street, as crowds applauded and cheered the cranes’ passage, Savannah’s antebellum cot- ton warehouses, multi-story, grey-brick reminders of the days when cotton was king, served as a historic backdrop. And, in the shadow of the Talmadge Bridge, a tidal lock marked the terminus of the old Savannah-Ogeechee Canal, a 16.5-mile-long connection to the Erie Canal and 1820s industrial technology. WHEN IT COMES TO MARINE DRAYAGE WE HAVE NO EQUAL Sources: gaports.com; ttnews.com; Savannah Morning News articles; Georgia Historical Society papers; New Georgia Encyclopedia. For more than 38 years, Atlantic Intermodal Services has provided container drayage throughout the East Coast. As part of IMC Companies, the largest marine drayage provider in the United States, AIS is uniquely equipped to scale logistics solutions to your needs. So if you are ready for a partner that will put you first, visit us at AtlanticIntermodal.com.
