Washington County joins other Utah counties to create inland port satellite hub

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Commission passed a resolution on Tuesday joining with other counties to create a satellite of Utah’s Inland Port in Iron County.

An example of a seaport where freight is moved. Washington County has signed on with other counties to create a satellite hub in Iron County of Utah’s own inland port, location and date of photo unknown | Photo courtesy of Pixabay, St. George News

The satellite port would be one of four planned across the state that would “serve as nodes in the Utah logistics system,” according to the Utah Inland Port Authority’s website. “These locations will form a complementary system of freight consolidating and movement assets to facilitate the efficient movement of goods throughout Utah.”

The location of what is to be the state’s primary inland port hub is located in Salt Lake City.

Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow said an inland port functions in the same way as a regular seaport as far as the offloading, processing and shipment of freight is concerned. The only difference is an inland port is what the name implies – located inland from the coast.

“We have direct rail from many ports, actually all of the major ports along the West Coast to Salt Lake City,” Snow said. “That is where they (the freight) gets processed – it speeds up the supply chain.”

While the main hub is in northern Utah, Snow said a “hub and spokes” model has been devised for the rest of the state, with the proposed satellite ports making up the spokes. These satellites are to be built in areas that have major freeway or rail connections.

In this file photo, Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow speaks to how the commission works with county department and office heads about determining budget priorities, St. George, Utah, Nov. 16, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Washington County/CEC, St. George News

Though St. George is located right on Interstate 15, the resolution the County Commission approved Tuesday calls for the creation of the proposed satellite hub in Iron County where access to the railroad exists.

A business and industrial park with access to rail known as Port 15 has been planned for Iron County and previously was submitted to the Utah Inland Port Authority for consideration as a satellite port location.

“Manufacturing and other things that are made here can be trucked a much shorter distance up the road to Iron County, processed through customs and put on a train and taken to any of the major ports along the entire Western United States or anywhere else in the county because Salt Lake really is the crossroads of the West,” Snow said.

Having a satellite port nearby would be a great benefit to Washington County as it would further diversify an economy heavily dependent on certain industries and tourism, he said. It also can be used as a way to recruit businesses to the area and create new jobs along the way.

“Satellite ports are intended to catalyze trade activities statewide providing synergies necessary to boost imports and exports, improve access to domestic markets, and facilitate transit of goods and products of key Utah industries,” the UIPA website states. “The development of these locations also is intended to help rural areas of the state position themselves to participate in—and grow because of—the new market economy that will create better jobs for the future off the Wasatch Front.”

Union Pacific freight train, location and debt unspecified | Photo courtesy of Pixabay, St. George News

Following Snow’s presentation on the proposed satellite port, the County Commission unanimously voted to approve the county in joining and participating in the Utah Satellite Port Coalition and its efforts to make the proposed freight transportation hub a reality.

It was not stated during Tuesday’s meeting what the extent of Washington County’s participation would be moving forward.

Rail has run through Iron County since the late 1800s with a spur connecting to Cedar City by the mid-1920s.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!