courtesy Canton Repository
The trucking company will begin using trains to transport its product into Carrollton.
CARROLLTON James “Jim” Griffeth’s project to build a railroad track spur at a vacant industrial plant not only is expected to greatly increase his ability to bring product here, but it also will serve to return freight train traffic to Carroll County.
Griffeth & Son Trucking is getting $350,000 in grant assistance, which will go toward a $1.2 million project to install a rail spur at a plant once occupied by Heritage Plastics at 755 N. Lisbon St.
Once the railroad track spur is in place and operational, Griffeth, president of the trucking company, wants to use freight trains to bring his crushed limestone product to town.
The limestone currently arrives by truck from a north-central Ohio quarry in the Carey area near Findlay.
“We are going to do a rail unloading facility. We are going to add 1,100 feet to an existing spur. We are going to put a pit underneath the spur where the stone will be dumped into,” he said.
Brewster-based Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. will provide the freight-hauling service. And Griffeth envisions bringing in more limestone.
“Right now we are at approximately 25,000 tons a year,” he said. “In the future, if we bring in one train a week, we will bring 100,000 tons a year. And it is possible to go to two or three trains a week. If the demand goes up, we could grow with our demand.”
Grant assistance
Griffeth & Son Trucking is at 1161 Roswell Road NW, just west of Carrollton. The spur development project is in line for a $100,000 grant from the Ohio Rail Development Commission. And there is $200,000 coming from JobsOhio, which is working with Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth on this project. And the Carroll County Community Improvement Corporation is to contribute $50,000.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission was approached by the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth.
“Carrollton is an area that could use some help on the development area,” said Tom Burns, project manager for the rail commission. “So we looked at a lot of different things behind the scene. Last time I looked, they were lagging behind the state in employment. We are going through our grant agreement process. We are getting our paperwork in order.”
As of August, the unemployment rate for Carroll County stood at 4.6%, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Stark County’s unemployment was 4.4% during the same month. And the state unemployment rate stood at 4.2%.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission is affiliated with the Ohio Department of Transportation. Part of its thrust is promoting the use of rail transportation to transport freight and people along a faster and safer network of tracks.
Meanwhile, JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation that seeks to promote economic development with job creation and capital investment.
“We are part of the JobsOhio network,” said Ed Looman, eastern Ohio project manager for the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth. “The money we gave was for the renovation of the building. He (Griffeth) is going to to bring new life to a building that has been sitting vacant for a number of years. It is about jobs and creating more rail traffic.”
The railroad spur is essential to bringing the crushed limestone cargo off the mainline rail track.
Griffeth estimates the entire project will cost $3.5 million, which includes cost of the railroad spur and purchase of the two sites once occupied by Heritage Plastics. The other Heritage Plastics site is at 861 N. Lisbon St. McCort Rentals limited liability company currently owns the former Heritage Plastics sites, according to Carroll County real estate records.
Griffeth & Son Trucking eventually will relocate to the former Heritage Plastics sites. But Griffeth intends to hold on to his site.
“It will be used for storage or someone will rent it,” Griffeth said.
Conditional grant
The $50,000 grant from the Carroll County Improvement Corporation, however, is conditional.
Griffeth & Son Trucking will receive the $50,000 “with the condition they make a public intermodal,” explained Christopher Modranski, Carroll County economic development director. “They should make an area where anyone can come in a ship and receive products for their business.”
Griffeth is agreeable.
“We will be able to unload stuff for other people in the county if they are interested,” Griffeth said. “We will be able to supply different vendors, different contractors. This will bring the railroad service back to Carroll County. We won’t be open until spring.”
Modranski, a member of Carrollton Village Council, expressed support for the railroad spur project, which will be within the village corporate limits.
“It is very good news for the community,” Modranski said. “Not only is Griffeth & Son Trucking retaining their current 29 employees. They have made a commitment to hire 40 new employees within three years. They are utilizing the building. They have to fix the roof. They will do some interior work. Part of the building will be warehouse storage. A portion of the building, they will open up a commercial truck (service) shop.”
Griffeth mentioned that some of his customers whom he serves crushed limestone are Smith Concrete, Encino Energy, townships and county engineering offices.
With train service, Griffeth & Son Trucking is expected to have more limestone on hand to sell to customers.
“Any of the big projects, we had to let go because we didn’t have the supply,” Griffeth said. “The big on-demand projects we could never service.”
Griffeth & Son Trucking also hauls coal it gets from Tuscarawas County. And the company uses trucks to transport equipment for the oil and natural-gas exploration industry in the area.
Being a rural county with a population of about 28,800 as of the 2010 federal census, Carroll County currently has no freight railroad service.
“Because of the low volume, it is not feasible for our local businesses,” Modranski said. “But with Griffeth, they will be coming down every week.”
Reach Malcolm Hall at 330-580-8305.