Project Overview

This was a project not driven by the creation of a manufacturing plant or attracting a new employer into the community.  This was a project which was facilitated by the Wood County Port Authority with an intimate understanding of the needs of both a key employer in a City within Wood County and the city itself. 

The customer was the NSG Pilkington plant located in Rossford Ohio and the rail service for raw materials coming into the plant across State Route 65.  The existing rail service (see photo) caused delays and slowed transit across the Western entrance to the City.  Wood County Port Authority understood the issue and worked with NSG/Pilkington, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the Wood County Commissioners, the State of Ohio through its Section 629 funding to be able to source the funding needed to accomplish rebuilding the rail crossing at the eastern end of the City of Rossford.   This is a perfect example of the Wood County Port Authority’s ability to coordinate a focused result among multiple public entities. 

A key element was working with the Project engineer to establish the cost of the project, along with selecting George Gradel & Co., after bidding out the project.  The project had a unique ask – it had to be initiated and construction finished within 2-3 days and the rail could be shut down no longer than 1 day.  Rex Huffman, the Port Authorities executive director, and Rich Martinko, project director, were successful in bringing the project in within the strict time requirements of Pilkington and on budget.   The key to this Wood County Port Authority project was to move quickly and efficiently through the myriad of agency funding, corporate and government approvals needed to accomplish the task at hand.

Project Images – After