To suggest the sound of railroad freight moving is music to the ears of residents and businesses in and around the Arkansas Delta community of Helena-West Helena would be an understatement. Our stretch of short rail serves as a critical driver of economic development – and a lifeline that was nearly lost.
In early 2015, EnviroTech, a manufacturer of disinfectants for the food industry, was putting down roots in the Helena Harbor Industrial Complex and bringing with it 60 much needed jobs, with the potential for even more. Helena Harbor is a fully equipped, 4,000-acre industrial park built on the banks of the Mississippi River and represents the area’s brightest beacon for growth since the mechanization of the agriculture industry and loss of Mohawk Tire Company in the 1970s. So the significance of the jobs that EnviroTech created was huge.
But, just as the community welcomed EnviroTech, our short-line railroad was being placed under embargo. Access to a reliable railroad line and to the Mississippi River have always been assets we depended on to attract prospective businesses, but the rail required significant repair to meet safety standards, and railroad ownership was weighing the long-term feasibility of such a project. Recognizing that a rail closing would not only severely cripple future growth for EnviroTech, but other existing and prospective companies, the Phillips County Port Authority and others banded together to help.
By mid-summer 2015, the Arkansas Midland Railroad agreed to shoulder a sizeable portion of the $1 million rail renovation project, along with contributions from the Phillips County Port Authority, Delta Regional Authority, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Walton Family Foundation. The investment was absolutely critical to the economic stability of the community, but would have dried up the budget my organization had earmarked to promote further economic development across Phillips County in the year ahead.
The Walton Family Foundation provided a grant to cover the Phillips County Port Authority’s portion of the rail renovation. The rail is up and running again, providing the stability and opportunity for growth required by manufacturing operations like EnviroTech and Norac Additives (100 employees), as well as long-time rail users Cottonseed Co-Op Corporation and John Bury Cotton Warehouse. In addition, the support helped keep my organization’s budget earmarked for rehabilitation projects in downtown Helena, and for the continued recruitment of businesses. Bottom line: the preservation of our railroad has and will continue to be invaluable to this community.
When an embargo is placed on a railroad, it's a serious matter. It normally ends in closure, and that has permanently impacted a number of communities across the country. We were able to buck the odds and build momentum – and that’s a big win for the future of Phillips County. An area of the Arkansas Delta that’s been working to reinvent itself for several decades now has some of the infrastructure in place to continue to build positive momentum and opportunity.
