As the region continues to gain distribution centers, rail is being studied along with roads and airplanes for shipping needs.
Encouraged by the Lehigh Valley’s growth in warehousing and manufacturing, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is launching a study into the region’s future freight transportation needs.
The study will build on a possible inland rail port being established in Bethlehem and explore the needs of goods shipped by rail across the Lehigh Valley, according to planning commission Executive Director Becky Bradley.
“There’s been a growth of industrial warehouses in both counties,” she said, citing not only the Upper Macungie Township area but the Bethlehem area and the Route 33 corridor.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission in 2007 also conducted a rail freight study, but that study mostly looked at the region’s existing capabilities, Bradley said. A lot has changed in just six years, she said.
The study will also look at how rail transportation can be used jointly with other modes, she said. For example, Lehigh Valley International Airport handles a lot of freight shipping as well as passenger travel, she said.
“You could be riding with crates of tomatoes or oranges and you don’t even know about it,” she said.
The airport and Allentown especially are interested in increasing their rail shipping as an economic development tool, Bradley said. It’s also an important economic development strategy for the entire region, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. President and CEO Don Cunningham said.
“We have become a major distribution hub for the movement of consumer goods,” he said. “The timing is really good for us to be looking at volume of freight, projections and the most efficient way to move it.”
While Bradley says a lot has changed in the region since 2007, Cunningham sees the Lehigh Valley’s growth in distribution centers continuing into the foreseeable future as more and more people shop online.
“This economy is only going to continue as retail keeps moving directly to consumer,” he said.
Western Lehigh County, home to many distribution centers along the Interstate 78 corridor, is especially interested in getting rail shipping capabilities, Cunningham said.
The rail shipping study may be especially important as transportation improvement funding for highways isn’t so readily available anymore, Bradley said. And the Lehigh Valley is home to many existing rail lines, even as some are renovated into recreation trails, she said.
The planning commission is partnering with the state on its freight transport study as the state is also studying the issue, Bradley said. The Lehigh Valley’s portion of the study is expected to cost $130,000 and take about a year to complete, she said.
The study isn’t looking into passenger rail service, as the need was investigated a couple of years ago, Bradley said. The issue may be studied again if the region’s population grows significantly, she said.