Jefferson County is home to one of the most unique transportation hubs in the Southeast. Few people outside those who do business there, though, even know it exists.

City and county officials would like to see that change and recently put up $675,000 to develop the port into a lure for industries that could use it to import or export their products.

Port Birmingham is located along the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River about 22 miles west of downtown Birmingham. Watco Companies handles much of the operations on the waterway in the county. The short-line rail company owns 182 acres with a half-mile of river frontage, which it bought from U.S. Steel about five years ago.

"This is the most unique transportation asset in the American southeast," said K.R. McKenzie, commercial manager for Watco in Birmingham. "There are very few places where you have barge, railroad connectivity to three Class 1 railroads, and superior access to the American highway system."

The inland port connects to the deep water Port of Mobile and to the CSX, Norfolk Southern and BNSF railways via the Watco-owned Birmingham Terminal Railway. The port also has direct truck access to Birmingham's six-spoke interstate network: Interstate 65, I-22, I-59/20, I-459 and the under construction Northern Beltline.

Traffic at the port, though, is a fraction of what it was 20 years ago, port officials say. Port Birmingham is at 5 percent capacity today compared to the 1990s when it operated at full capacity. At that time 12 million to 14 million tons of commodities were transported through the port each year.

As the economy shows signs of improving, Watco is working to rebrand the port as an international hub for commerce. It's also working to diversify the products that are transported through the port.

"We have product that is on the terminal today that is going to ultimately going to be consumed in the Pacific Northwest," McKenzie said. "We have product that is here today that is ultimately probably going to be consumed in mainland Europe."

Mark Brown, vice president of business retention and expansion at the Birmingham Business Alliance, said there is renewed interest now from industry looking to build or expand facilities along the Black Warrior River.

"We will continue to see additional interest because of the assets that are there," he said.

Port Birmingham currently handles steel coils, steel plates, coal, coke, chemicals and building materials for customers located across the world. Finished product coming through the port is typically made within a 250-mile radius of Birmingham.

Commodities can travel by barges from Mobile to Birmingham or vice versa via the Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, said Larry Merrihew, president of the Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway Association. From the Port of Mobile, barges make the three-and-half to four-day journey from Mobile River, to Tombigbee to the Black Warrior River.

This map from the Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway Association shows Alabama's inland waterway systems. CAWA stands for Coalition of Alabama Waterways. (Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway Association

Port Authority

The newly formed Birmingham-Jefferson County Port Authority is tasked with helping market the port, secure federal funding for infrastructure and facilitate further development along the Black Warrior River.

The Birmingham-Jefferson County Port Authority was formed in August 2016, upon approval by the Alabama State Port Authority.

In a letter to the Alabama State Port Authority, Birmingham Mayor William Bell said the port authority was formed to create jobs, increase tax bases, double exports, better utilize waterway and reduce congestion and pollution in the Birmingham metro area.

"The overarching strategy is to unify existing barge-served industrial operations under the Port Birmingham brand, grow economic engines for these services, and gradually diversify operations to include container-on-barge service and support industrial land uses," the mayor stated.

"Initial operations are intended to leverage existing facilities and assets along the Black Warrior River, establishing consistent service and growing Birmingham's industrial market demand within the river corridor. These initiatives will further support ongoing community and business sector engagement, promoting waterway use, and generating further interest by pursuing public private partnerships to offer effective and efficient freight alternatives to the region," the letter stated.

The Birmingham City Council named Brenda Phillips-Hong, a non-profit founder, and attorney Monique Okoye to the five-member board of directors. The Jefferson County Commission appointed registered lobbyist Randy Wilhelm and attorney David Roberson. The bodies jointly named Jonathan Porter, vice president of Birmingham division for Alabama Power.

The board of directors didn't respond to requests for comment by AL.com. They referred questions to STRADA, the consulting company hired to perform feasibility studies on the port and to help establish the port authority.

This summer, the city council approved allocating $425,000 to the port authority. The county allocated $250,000. Those funds are being used to fund the operations of the port authority, pay legal fees, marketing and STRADA's fees.

Ron Thompson, director of engineering at STRADA, said the establishment of the public port authority makes the port eligible for millions in federal dollars and tax incentives. The Alabama Renewal Act allows public ports to give tax incentives to large carriers, for example.

STRADA is currently applying for a number of competitive federal grants, including Infrastructure For Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants (formerly called FASTLANE), which have to be submitted by November.

Thompson said this funding could be used to build warehouses and container storage and upgrade port facilities.

STRADA is seeking federal funds through the Appalachian Regional Commission, which awards grants to economic development projects that will help replace lost coal jobs. They are also seeking project designation from the United States Maritime Administration, another competitive process.

The availability of these funds, though, remain in question under President Donald Trump's administration, Thompson said.

McKenzie said Watco values the authority, and the body opens doors and funding opportunities for the port company. "It allows us another marketing platform to position the port at the city and the county and the state level," he said.

Infrastructure/Industrial recruitment

McKenzie said Watco is working to grow the port by diversifying the commodity base, investing in and improving its current assets, and working with local, state and regional partners.

"We are focused on positioning Watco's port and terminal assets in Birmingham in a way to support economic growth for the community and bring the area new commercial/industrial opportunities," he said.

A public-private partnership agreement between Watco and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Port Authority is near completion, McKenzie said.

The majority of Watco's 182 acres in Birmingham are open for development, port officials said.

Port Birmingham also currently has just under 8,000 square feet of Watco-owned warehouse space.

McKenzie said there is a big need for more.

"In this business, inside storage is a differentiator," he said. "People make shipping decisions based on your ability to provide them with that capability."

McKenzie said Watco also has the space for a potential industrial park. The company's property along Birmingport Road in Mulga, and the Birmingham Terminal Railway in Fairfield can accommodate warehousing and manufacturing facilities, he said.

"There is nothing we would not consider," he said, in terms of partnerships and facilities. "I don't think we would turn anything away without giving it a pretty good look."

McKenzie said Watco is also working to secure more business from automotive plants in the region.

Though, he declined to release names of any clients who utilize the port, STRADA released that some raw materials used by automotive manufacturers and supplies for companies like Honda, Mercedes and Hyundai come through Port Birmingham.

"As the automobile industry grows in the state, we believe that we could become a major distribution point for the steel required to produce vehicles," McKenzie said.

Influx of shipping

The expansion of the Panama Canal and container facilities at the Port of Mobile are expected to cause an influx of shipping into Alabama, industry experts say. Panama Canal's expansion doubles its capacity and allows larger ships to travel through the locks.

Two new weekly Asian services, added last year, are helping drive Mobile's container traffic, The Journal of Commerce, a shipping trade magazine, reported.

APM Terminals, Port of Mobile's container terminal operator, is investing millions into expanding its capacity to meet the increasing demand, including to serve the massive new Walmart distribution center being built west of Mobile.

Due to this growing operation, Birmingham area officials are hopeful the inland port can secure container on barge service and keep a portion of the containers coming into Mobile off the state's congested interstates.

Containers typically hold high-value products. They can be transported by ship, barge, rail and truck.

McKenzie said Port Birmingham is in a good position to secure container on barge service as Alabama's container trade is expected to grow substantially in the next 12 to 18 months.

"The only transportation mode that has the ability to expand is the waterways and they can increase their capacities without any additional cost," Merrihew said.