Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway Co. on Jan. 25 announced six new BNSF Certified Sites that are optimal for customer development along its rail network.
New certified sites include AgriTech Park in Great Falls, Mont.; Ameripointe Logistics Park in Ardmore, Oklahoma.; Central New Mexico Rail Park in Los Lunas, New Mexico; Commerce Center of Southeast Iowa in Middletown, Iowa; Gallup Energy Logistics Park in Gallup, New Mexico; and John W. Kelsey Business and Technology Park in Greenville, Illinois.
“One of the ways BNSF works to ensure the right solution is offered to each customer is by scouting potential sites for development in advance of customer inquiries,” said Colby Tanner, assistant vice president, economic development. “By doing the upfront leg work to confirm a site is rail-served and shovel-ready, BNSF’s Site Certification Program creates significant value for customers by accelerating the process needed to support customer growth and development.”
The BNSF program allows the certified sites to use the “BNSF Certified Sites” distinction in marketing materials to attract new businesses. BNSF actively markets the sites on its website and promotes the sites to the economic development industry across the country.
A customer who builds a new rail-served facility on a BNSF Certified Site is expected to save between six to nine months of construction time as a result of the site’s advanced level of preparedness for development, according to a BNSF news release
BNSF launched its Site Certification Program in March 2016 by selecting four industrial sites in Shafter, California; Newton, Kansas; Shelby, Montana and Temple, Texas. As a result of these initial site certifications, BNSF has not only received inquiries about these sites from potential customers, but also from other communities that are interested in having an industrial site certified, according to the news release.
Additional details on the new group of BNSF Certified Sites are as follows:
• Ameripointe Logistics Park has more than 1,200 acres of developable land. The site being certified at this time is specific to 1,026 acres. The hub is located in Ardmore, Okla., which is at the intersection of Interstate Highway 35 and US Highway 70 about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City.
• Gallup Energy Logistics Park is expected to eventually comprise as much as 2,500 acres. The site being certified at this time is specific to 365 acres and is located a few miles north of Interstate Highway 40 in Gallup, N.M., which is 140 miles west of Albuquerque and 190 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona.
• AgriTech Park is planned to eventually contain 1,100 acres. The site being certified at this time is approximately 197 acres and is located in north central Montana about 10 miles off Interstate 15 in Great Falls, Mont. It is about 225 miles north of Billings, Mont. and 110 miles south of the Canadian border.
• Central New Mexico Rail Park contains 1,420 acres and is located about six miles west of Interstate Highway 25 in Los Lunas, N.M., approximately 30 miles south of downtown Albuquerque, N.M.
• Commerce Center of Southeast Iowa is an approximately 153 acre site located on the northern edge of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middletown, Iowa just south of U.S. Highway 34 about 90 miles southwest of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area.
• John W. Kelsey Business and Technology Park is a nearly 440 acre site in Greenville, Ill. and located about 45 miles northeast of St. Louis just north of Interstate 70.About BNSF
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