The Daily Record
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No deal for Selma or Four Oaks.
By TYLER DOUGLAS
Of The Record Staff
Four Oaks Mayor Linwood Parker was correct earlier this month when he said a potential deal with CSX for a large shipping terminal in Johnston County was unlikely. The project — dubbed the “Carolina Connector” or “CCX” — was originally announced in January and has not only skipped over the towns of Selma and Four Oaks, but the entire county.On Tuesday, Gov. Pat McCrory announced that CSX would open its new terminal in the Edgecombe County city of Rocky Mount — bringing with it hundreds of shortterm engineering and construction jobs, nearly 150 permanent jobs once the project is completed and the inevitable economic boost that comes with a drastically expanded tax base. Those benefits could have been a part of Four Oaks, said Mayor Parker during his town’s July meeting, explaining if CSX were located in Four Oaks and agreed to annexation the company would have paid $1 million a year in taxes to the town. Without that tax base, Four Oaks will have to find alternate funds to replace an old water tower and for other projects, he See CSX, Page 3 CSX
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said.
Discussion of a new high school in Johnston County was also said to have been on the table if the railroad giant had picked Four Oaks.
Those plans are now dashed.
Just as in Selma — the original desired location for the Carolina Connector — Four Oaks residents met the project with suspicion and disdain, organizing protests and questioning planners.
Many residents were afraid of losing family land if CSX had opted to exercise its right to use eminent domain (Mayor Parker says that was never the plan).
Others openly worried about traffic and noise and property values plummeting.
The opposition was enough in both Johnston County towns for CSX to look elsewhere, some rumors indicated that Harnett County was even trying to snag the project, but those rumors were laid to rest Tuesday with Gov. McCrory’s announcement.
The new terminal in the Rocky Mount area will position North Carolina as a leader in “enhanced freight movement,” a press release proclaims.
The numbers are big — CCX will transfer containerized cargo between trains and trucks, processing more than 260,000 containers per year initially. Building the facility is expected to create 250 to 300 short-term jobs in engineering, technical services and construction. Conservative estimates indicate that the hub is expected to create 1,500 jobs throughout North Carolina as a result of the operations.
“This historic project is part of our 25-year vision for transportation because it facilitates efficient and cost-effective movement of goods, which is critical for job creation and economic growth,” said Gov. McCrory in a statement this week. “The Carolina Connector will be a gamechanger for our state’s economy, supporting North Carolina’s agriculture, ports and position as the Southeast’s No. 1 state for manufacturing jobs.”
The company currently maintains an intermodal terminal in Charlotte, as well as bulk transfer terminals in Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem and major rail yards in Hamlet and Rocky Mount.
The new CCX, expected to open in 2020 (with related track improvements) are is projected to take two years to construct once all necessary environmental permits are obtained.
Carolinas Gateway Partnership, the local economic development organization, controls nearly all of the land needed for the facility, which is located along CSX’s main rail line in a primarily industrial area — another aspect in stark contrast to Johnson County.
The economic shot-in-the-arm comes at a good time for Rocky Mount.
According to The Rocky Mount Telegram, the unemployment rate of the city’s metropolitan statistical area has declined over the years since it peaked at 14.8 percent in 2010 — however, it still has the highest jobless rate among metro areas in North Carolina, as the local economy continues to face uphill challenges.
A July 4 Telegram article searches for a bright spot in the city’s largely dark economic track record
as of late — topped by the recent announcement Pfizer’s Rocky Mount pharmaceutical plant is downsizing because of recent changes in market demand for certain products.
The light at the end of the proverbial tunnel has arrived for the city, said Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla III in the governor’s press release.
“The Carolina Connector intermodal hub will do far more than provide new jobs in Rocky Mount,” he explained. “It will enhance connections among suppliers and buyers in a way that spins off exciting opportunities for job growth throughout North Carolina.”
According to the press release, CCX will directly employ 149 workers at salaries averaging $64,047 per year. Currently, the average annual wage in Edgecombe County is $32,725, the press release notes.
North Carolina’s Transportation Department will contribute $100 million for track improvements as well as terminal infrastructure through the state’s new transportation funding formula.
CSX will invest $160 million in the project.
