Development of rail terminal at Lacassine Industrial Park continues
JENNINGS — Work is continuing on the development of a rail terminal at the Lacassine Industrial Park.
The project is the first of its kind for Southwest Louisiana, according to Jeff Davis Parish Economic Development Director Marion “Butch” Fox.
“It’s pretty amazing and incredible what is happening there,” Fox said updating the Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury on the project Wednesday. “Once the park is finished, they will have the capacity to have four 120 unit car trains at the Lacassine Industrial Park which means really high dollars for our parish and people that are coming into that area.”
Rail Logix, a privatelyowned rail yard operator, is developing the rail terminal which will accommodate 800 rail cars with more than 450 rail car spots of interchange track.
Rail Logix is leasing the property for the project at the Lacassine Industrial Park from the Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority (LAFA). Rail Logix also brought 150 acres to the west to put in additional rail spurs, Fox said.
The nearby rock yard already has two rail spurs going to it and all the rock will be transferred there, she said. The Zagis textile mill will also have a rail spur.
Rail Logix will be able to sell the property to manufacturing companies or others. In the park, the property is lease only, she said. Rail Logix will build to suit tenants who want to lease the property.
“A lot of companies want to lease the property and then Rail Logix will build to suit,” she said. “We’ve never had a property in our purchase that had the ability to build to suit whatever the owner of the company wanted. That’s a big, big leap for Jeff Davis Parish.”
Rail Logix also specializes in the storage, handling and switching of railcars for users in the petrochemical, energy, agricultural and logistics industries.
Fox also update the Police Jury on the creation and funding of a new geographic information system (GIS) for the parish. The system will cost $67,010 for 2018.
The sheriff’s office, Economic Development Office, Jennings, Welsh, Lake Arthur and Jeff Davis Electric Co-op have all signed off on the agreement to implement the service, she said. Agreements with the Police Jury and School Board are pending.
The Jeff Davis Parish Assessor’s Office will provide staff and the computer system for the service.
The GIS system will replace the parish’s paper based data system with digital mapping, aerial images and other files.
The system will allow multiple layers of useful information and data for local properties to be displayed on a digital map from any computer. The system will also allow users to see street views and find information on transportation, highways, voting precincts, council districts, zoning and land use, parks and more. Locations of utilities, pipelines, flood zones and elevation can also be found.
The system will also tell where people are building things that are not assessed and will assist with the upcoming census.
“It will help us make sure we get people counted in Jeff Davis Parish, not Calcasieu Parish,” she said.
The state-of-the-art Rail Logix Lacassine Industrial Park will accommodate 800 Rail Cars (expandable to 2,350+) with more than 250 Rail Car Spots of Interchange Track.
The state-of-the-art Rail Logix Lacassine Industrial Park will accommodate 800 Rail Cars (expandable to 2,350+) with more than 250 Rail Car Spots of Interchange Track.
The state-of-the-art Rail Logix Lacassine Industrial Park will accommodate 800 Rail Cars (expandable to 2,350+) with more than 250 Rail Car Spots of Interchange Track.
The state-of-the-art Rail Logix Lacassine Industrial Park will accommodate 800 Rail Cars (expandable to 2,350+) with more than 250 Rail Car Spots of Interchange Track.