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1999 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 704
Requesting the Secretary of Transportation to study the desirability and feasibility of establishing additional intermodal transfer facilities.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 9, 1999
Agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 1999

WHEREAS, through the mechanism of the Inland Port at Front Royal, Virginia is able to collect truck-hauled containerized freight at the Inland Port in sufficient quantities to transport it in unit trains directly to the Ports of Hampton Roads, not only holding down costs paid by the shipper, but also eliminating a substantial number of trucks from the overcrowded long-haul highways of eastern Virginia; and

WHEREAS, by establishing other facilities in Virginia and working cooperatively with other states to encourage the establishment of similar facilities within their boundaries, a network of intermodal transfer facilities might be established that could prove useful in reducing heavy truck traffic on other long-haul highways in the Commonwealth, particularly Interstate Route 81; and

WHEREAS, additional intermodal transfer facilities need not necessarily handle only cargoes with a seaport or river port as their origin or destination, nor would unit trains linking these facilities necessarily be limited to transporting containers typically used in maritime commerce, but might employ a variety of “piggy-back” container, trailer, or semitrailer configurations; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Secretary of Transportation be requested to study the desirability and feasibility of establishing additional intermodal transfer facilities. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation shall assist the Secretary in the conduct of the study. Other agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Secretary, upon request.

The Secretary shall complete her work in time to submit her findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2001 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.