High oil prices have established the economic viability next year's planned container barge service between Hampton Roads and Richmond, Virginia that planners see removing 1,600 trucks a week from the roads, reports the Newport News Daily Press.
The James River Barge Line, operated by Norfolk-based shipping agent, T Parker Host Inc, plans to ferry containers 100 miles along the James River between Norfolk and Portsmouth terminals to the Port of Richmond.
"As truck rates and fuel rates continue to go up, it's to my advantage. [The line] offers the reduction of trucks off the roadways at minimal cost in its first three years of start-up operations," said company CEO David Host.
The company studied providing the service before, but the model wasn't economically viable until fuel prices and trucking rates skyrocketed, he said.
The company received a boost from the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission, which agreed to kick in US$2.25 million over three years to help get the program off the ground.
About 80 per cent of that money will come from Richmond's share of a federal air quality improvement fund; the remaining 20 per cent will come from the state's share of those dollars.
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