WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today finalized a $10 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) 2011 grant for the Port of Northern Montana Multimodal Hub Center in Shelby, Mont.  The inland port will expand the export capacity of Montana’s agricultural producers and build on $254 million in private investments pledged for related construction projects to be built in the area.

The TIGER grant was announced December 15, 2011, and obligated today to the Northern Express Transportation Authority to complete the final phase of the $17 million project. 

“The Multimodal Hub Center will provide Montana with an inland port that will help increase trade and create economic opportunities for its residents and businesses,” said Secretary Foxx.  “These federal dollars will translate into new businesses and jobs, and will strengthen long-term growth and support the President’s goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014.”

Currently, Montana does not have the ability to ship or receive containerized cargo by rail because it lacks an inland port.

“By 2050, America’s transportation network will need to move four billion more tons of freight annually,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “Projects like this are an important step toward keeping America moving now and in the future.”

The Multimodal Hub Center construction involves relocating a small BNSF Railway facility from downtown Shelby to an industrial park.  Once complete, the Multimodal Hub Center will be able to accept and deliver unit trains in which all the cars that are part of the train are shipped from the same origin to the same destination without being split up.