~ the issue ~ Inland port

~ Our opinion ~ Criticism of plan aside, CaroLinks has yet to show it will really build inland port

It’s been nearly a year since Lucy M. Duncan-Scheman and her company CaroLinks made the announcement that they’d make reality of Orangeburg County’s ambition to be home for an inland port. Bringing the project to fruition is proving anything but easy.

Orangeburg County leaders have gone so far as to market the county as the Global Logistics Triangle, the ideal South Carolina location for distribution centers and routing. An inland port in the heart of the eastern triangle would be the anchor.

The idea was and is to bring cargo containers out of the Port of Charleston to an inland site for loading onto trucks, which would then use the extensive interstate and major highway system here to distribute the containers. The port would be appealing because it would reduce truck traffic at the Port of Charleston. Railing the containers from Charleston to here would be a relatively simple proposition.

CaroLinks put specifics to the inland port concept, announcing that it would locate the site at U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95 at Santee. It would use both rail and barges to bring containers to the location, where a new interstate interchange would be con-structed. CaroLinks announced it had already made arrangements to purchase the land.

As much as Orangeburg County welcomed the news, it became apparent early that Duncan-Scheman had to convince skeptics here the project ever would become reality. Remember, this is a county that a half-decade ago bet on biotechnology by investing in the now- defunct Pilot Therapeutics. Pilot’s plan for a plant here that would mean jobs and involve local farmers through growing the crop borage never came to fruition.

The inland port project to date has shown signs of problems:

n The company has not purchased the land at Santee.

n In September, the firm decided to halt the acquisition of a Shipyard Creek site in North Charleston, which was to serve as a base for cargo distribution.

n Opposition has mounted, particularly from tourism and retirement interests at Santee.

n The proposal to barge containers from Charleston to Santee via the Cooper River and the Santee Cooper lakes bred as many skeptics as opponents.

CaroLinks continues to say it is on track with the inland port and remains committed to Orangeburg County, even as the opposition from Santee interests grows louder, particularly in the form of a group organized to oppose the plan.

Most recently, CaroLinks announced it was abandoning the concept of using the lakes for barging, saying achieving approval for the transportation and making it reality will not be economically feasible.

The announcement is no surprise. All along, the idea of using barges in a river and lake system not designed for such commercial use seemed far-fetched, particularly with rail access at the proposed site.

Backing away from impact on the lake itself should soften some opposition at Santee, but it will not put a stop to those who believe the additional truck traffic and type of economic impact from the inland port will destroy “the Oasis of Recreation.”

Those critics should be out in full force when the town and CaroLinks officials play host to a public forum Thursday, Jan. 25, at Lake Marion High School from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Company and town officials are encouraging individuals to presubmit all questions in writing, as questions will not be taken from the floor.

In the meantime, skepticism will remain until Caro-Links takes some concrete step to prove that it is indeed going to put the inland port in place.

You must be logged in to comment.