President of Saiia Construction

Jody Saiia is president of Saiia Construction, a Birmingham-based firm that has specialized in heavy construction for the past 64 years, including site development and maintenance of commercial, industrial, and large residential projects.  A civil engineer by training, Saiia early in his career worked with a consulting firm designing interstate highways for the Alabama Department of Transportation.  He currently serves on the board of directors of the Business Council of Alabama, a statewide organization with a membership of about 5,000 businesses and industries that employ some 750,000 people.  He also sits on the board of the Coalition for Regional Transportation.

Question:

Norfolk Southern is planning to construct a $112 million intermodal facility in Jefferson County, Ala., as part of its Crescent Corridor project.  What economic benefits do you expect the Birmingham region to derive from this facility?

Answer:

Birmingham has been blessed with being a hub for commerce for decades. The development of a facility to handle intermodal freight will only enhance the region’s attractiveness for manufacturing and distribution companies. Norfolk Southern’s plans for the site have been well thought out, and the facility will be beneficial not only to the local community but also to the Greater Birmingham area, the state and the Southeast.  Once it opens, businesses will have greater access to lower-cost transportation to move their goods to markets in the Northeast or for export.  Businesses are going to gravitate to areas that offer them savings on their transportation costs, and that will mean more investment and more jobs in the Birmingham region and elsewhere in Alabama.

There’s also the clean air aspect of the project.  The intermodal site has easy access to interstates 459, 20, and 59, so this will reduce the number of 18-wheeler trucks now running through the central city of Birmingham.  That will help lower emissions and ozone levels in the center city, and ease traffic congestion that has become a choke point for downtown residents and commuters.  Reduction in air pollution and congestion will benefit citizens in the whole area.

Question:

What impact do you think the intermodal facility will have in terms of job creation and economic development opportunities?

Answer:

A $100 million construction project in Jefferson County is huge, and it will rank as one of the largest commercial developments ever done in the Greater Birmingham area.  It buys concrete, it employs people.  Beyond the initial construction, you’ll have manufacturing and distribution facilities that will be locating nearby or existing businesses that will expand their operations.  So there will be new construction, and there will also be ongoing economic activity generated by these companies because of all the services they will need after they open.  This will create demand for office furniture, for paper suppliers, the coffee guys, and all the materials that go into manufacturing things.  The economic benefits you get from opening an office aren’t a one-time deal.

Question:

As a public-private partnership, Norfolk Southern has received some public funds to help finance infrastructure improvements on the Crescent Corridor, including federal dollars for the intermodal facility in Alabama.  Does it make sense in your view to invest public funds in this project?

Answer:

From what I have seen, public-private partnerships are a way to get things done.  The public payoff on this project is reduced traffic congestion, economic development benefits from job creation, increased property values, and increased tax revenue for schools and other government services.  By investing public money up front, the public benefits long-term and will get that money back.