Executive Director of the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority

Bill Mobley is executive director of the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, whose mission is to promote the development of new business and industry and the retention and expansion of existing industry.  He has more than 25 years of experience in economic development work, formerly holding positions with the Tupelo Community Development Foundation and the Mississippi Development Authority.

Question:

Norfolk Southern plans to build an intermodal freight facility near Memphis, just north of Marshall County, Mississippi, as part of its Crescent Corridor project.  What kind of economic impact do you expect the terminal to have on your county?

Answer:

From the studies we’ve seen, we anticipate that 3,000 to 5,000 jobs will be created within two to six years, and that’s being very conservative, I think. Our Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park is located just across the state line from where the intermodal facility will be built, and we’ve got a lot of good industrial land available.  The park now has approximately 3,000 acres, and there’s enough land to expand it to nearly twice that size.  In addition, a new interstate, I-69, is being built nearby and will provide easy access.  That’s like a one-two punch, and they’re the big factors that are going to make this park explode.

Since Norfolk Southern announced the intermodal facility, we’ve been in conversations with a Japanese manufacturer and a German company that are interested in building warehouse and distribution facilities in the park.  Before, they weren’t even looking at us.  We’re a small county population-wise and economic-wise, and adding the intermodal yard is a tremendous help for us to promote the area and attract companies.  We’ve been 15 years in developing this park, and now we’re just positioned to grow.  It’s finally all coming together.  The manufacturing and distribution potential is just unreal.

Question:

Beyond jobs, do you see other benefits from NS’ intermodal facility?

Answer:

Our county is hovering around 10 percent unemployment right now, and there are a lot of people having to travel anywhere from 30 to 60 miles to get to a job.  Having this intermodal facility so close is going to reduce those commutes.  Just like the Crescent Corridor will cut down the number of trucks on the highway, I think it will have a ripple effect on our workers who won’t have to drive as far to get good paying jobs.