Sen. Lincoln to meet with RITA board (Updated)

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln plans to make the most of her upcoming trip to Fort Smith by also meeting with a group working to upgrade railroad lines at Chaffee Crossing.

Lincoln, who is locked in a bitter Democratic primary with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, will be in Fort Smith on April 6 as part of a “community celebration” to thank Mitsubishi officials for choosing to locate a $100 million wind-turbine manufacturing plant at Chaffee Crossing. The plant is expected to employ up to 400 when fully operational. Plant construction is expected to begin in early 2011.

Prior to the Mitsubishi celebration, Lincoln will visit with board members of the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA) about their request for $5 million to build new rail lines and improve existing lines at Chaffee Crossing. According to Lincoln’s office, the request for federal dollars comes with almost $3 million in local matching money.

Update: Sen. Lincoln has changed her schedule to give the RITA board more time to make a presentation. An 8 to 9 a.m. breakfast meeting will be held at the River Valley Nature Center at Chaffee Crossing, according to a late Friday e-mail from Mat Pitsch, intermodal project manager for the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District.

Pitsch credited State Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, for helping secure more time with Lincoln.

Specifically, the combined $8 million includes $3.5 million to improve roads at Van Buren port facilities and to extend railroad from Arkhola to Van Buren river port operation downstream. The remaining $4.5 million will be used on the railroad work at Chaffee Crossing.

The money will also include infrastructure support for a 50-acre economic development site at Chaffee Crossing and a 30-acre site near the Van Buren port, said Mat Pitsch, intermodal project manager for the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District.

RITA was formed in August 2009 with the broad goal to maximize the use of all forms of transportation — rail, barge, air, interstate — so as to reduce shipping costs and increase service options for regional business and industries.

The meeting between Lincoln and the RITA board will be held 11:10 to 11:25 a.m. at the Fort Smith Airport Commission Conference Room on the second floor of the Fort Smith Airport Terminal.

“I realize the time frame is short and sweet, but it still is a great opportunity to sit and talk with a sitting United States Senator,” Pitsch said in an e-mail note to RITA board members. “This is a great opportunity for us to talk about our short term projects, 1) Better Rail service to Chaffee Crossing, 2) improved water/barge facilities, and 3) development of an economic development site, all of which are part of the appropriation request filed this past month.”

Lincoln spokeswoman Marni Goldberg said the Senator is supportive of the RITA request.

“Improving the rail infrastructure at Chaffee Crossing will bolster the already strong efforts of the region to recruit new industry. Senator Lincoln will submit this request to the Appropriations Committee in April, and she will continue to support initiatives that create jobs and support economic growth,” Goldberg noted in a statement.