Work is moving ahead on a new intermodal rail yard at the Port of Wilmington, with the project on track for completion next year.

The $22.5 million intermodal rail yard project broke ground in the fall of 2024, according to a N.C. Ports spokesperson. It will add four new working tracks to the Port of Wilmington’s container terminal with a combined length of 5,000 feet. 

Once complete, the project will expand the port’s intermodal capacity to more than 50,000 container movements by rail annually, according to the spokesperson. The port’s intermodal activity is currently capped at approximately 14,000 intermodal rail movements annually. 

In recent years, N.C. Ports has seen record intermodal rail volumes because of new and expanding programs that use the port’s express rail products, including the Queen City Express, which provides daily service from the Port of Wilmington to the Charlotte Inland Port. 

In addition, the Wilmington Midwest Express puts cargo in Chicago and other Midwest markets in five to seven days, while the Wilmington-Rocky Mount Express provides daily access to and from the CSX Carolina Connector terminal in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Paving is set to begin soon on the new intermodal rail yard, and three dedicated, specialized reach stackers have been ordered and are expected to arrive in early 2026, the N.C. Ports spokesperson wrote in an email to the Business Journal.

“This will provide our customers with reliable, cost-competitive rail services while helping to divert nearly 250,000 container boxes from trucks to rail over the next decade,” the spokesperson wrote.

N.C. Ports received an $18 million federal RAISE grant, which will cover approximately 80% of the project’s price tag. The N.C. State Ports Authority will cost-share the remaining funds, according to the spokesperson. 

The port has also received $2.4 million in Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) grant funding to help offset operating costs for the new intermodal rail yard. 

“By diverting containers to rail, the project aligns with emission reduction goals, promotes energy efficiency, supports fiscally responsible land use and transportation efficient design and increases use of lower-carbon travel modes,” the N.C. Ports spokesperson wrote.