The Iowa Interstate Railroad has completed its $1.5 millon purchase of about 30 acres in Iowa City's industrial park to serve as the site of a new transloading facility, enabling a more fuel-efficient form of shipping for local industry.

The city announced the finalization of the purchase Thursday, about seven months after the City Council approved plans for it in June. The railroad said on its website the facility will open in the summer.

Transload facilities allow large amounts of cargo to be transferred from rail cars to trucks. This enables cargo shippers to keep transfer times short.

The city in a news release said the new facility will help connect the rail service to major trucking routes including Interstate 80, U.S. 6 and U.S. 218. The release said rail is the most fuel-efficient way to move freight across land and gives Iowa City a more climate-friendly shipping option.

"The transportation sector accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions nationally, and a quarter of our emissions locally. Projects like this are an excellent example of how actions on the local level contribute to solutions at a larger scale," City Manager Geoff Fruin said in the release.

The railroad, in its announcement, echoed Fruin and said it is a member of the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership, "demonstrating its strong environmental leadership and corporate responsibility."

It said the industrial park site, about 1,000 yards east of the intersection of 420th Street and U.S. 6, already has a rail spur that connects to its 573-mile network. The rail line extends from Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska and can connect to both larger railroads and other short-line rail services, it said.

“As part of our continuing growth strategy, Iowa Interstate Railroad is excited to have successfully acquired this parcel from our friends and neighbors at the City of Iowa City for the development of this new transloading facility," Joe Parsons, president and CEO, said in an announcement on the site. "As we have seen with the numerous other transloading sites existing along our network, these facilities provide significant value to our customers and open the door for many other companies to become rail shippers.”

The facility is one of several new developments and businesses that are looking to expand into the industrial park, on the city's southeast side.

The site will likely have an office building with three or four employees and is expected to serve companies shipping construction materials or aggregate raw materials, the city said.

The next nearest transload facility is in Newton, but there is a temporary one set up to help transport materials for the massive I-80/I-380 interchange project in Coralville.

Tom Banta, the director of strategic growth with the Iowa City Area Development Group, told the City Council in June that this facility will help promote Iowa City to both industrial and agricultural companies.

"As we look for ways to continue to bolster our economy while making significant progress towards achieving our climate action goals, this partnership reflects the values and collaborative spirit of Iowa City," Fruin said.

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (319) 214-5039, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Transload rail-truck facility slated for Iowa City industrial park