Posted on 04/14/2010 6:39:58 PM PDT by Army Air Corps
LEVELLAND, TX (KCBD) - Levelland is leading the way by investing millions to develop the new Levelland Industrial Rail Park. The "LIRP" will connect businesses to suppliers and customers globally, while contributing to a cleaner and greener environment.
According to golevelland.com, Levelland's rail customers are served via the West Texas & Lubbock Railway (WTLC) which consists of 107 miles of railroad on two lines extending from Lubbock, TX to Seagraves and through Levelland to Whiteface, TX. Purchased in 2002 by the Permian Basin Railways (PBR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iowa Pacific Holdings (IPH), the WTLC underwent major renovation with the creation of the Levelland Ethanol Plant located just six miles east of Levelland. This renovation created a resurgence in rail activity in Levelland and induced the Levelland EDC to develop the Levelland Industrial Rail Park (LIRP).
On Wednesday, the City of Levelland and Levelland Economic Development Corporation hosted a luncheon, presentation, and tour to update the "Partners in Progress" on the status of the Levelland Industrial Rail Park.
Project engineers provided a presentation and update on the rail park project. The LIRP is a 300-acre tract on the south side of Highway 114 east of the city of Levelland.
Something different about this rail park is that instead of wooden ties being used in the yard, which have a life of about five to seven years, the track will be laid with concrete ties, which should last about 15 years before maintenance is needed. Those ties became available when the struggling economy forced another company to cancel a project.
Construction is still in the early phases. "Our overall goal is to attract $100 million in capital improvements and 1,000 new jobs to the Hockley County seat," says Dave Quinn, Executive Director of the Levelland Economic Development Corp.
Quinn says that when it is completed, the site will have acreage to accommodate 13 businesses along 21,000 track feet, with no road crossings inside the park. He says that this is a benefit for trucks operating in the yard and for the trains waiting to be loaded and unloaded.
Plans show highway access to the east on roads to be built out to FM 3261, or a loop road, Progressive Place, that will open to Texas 114.
The estimated price of the park is $8.6 million, paid for with a combination of $3.3 million in federal stimulus funds, $1.5 million from Levelland cash reserves and $3.8 million in bonds that will be initially repaid with city sales tax revenues until tax increment financing district revenues become available from the site.
Quinn says that not only does he expect this to have a huge impact on Levelland and Hockley County, but Lubbock and the entire region as well.
Levelland Lyrics by James McMurtry
Flatter than a tabletop
Makes you wonder why they stopped here
Wagon must have lost a wheel or they lacked ambition one
On the great migration west
Separated from the rest
Though they might have tried their best
They never caught the sun
So they sunk some roots down in the dirt
To keep from blowin’ off the earth
Built a town around here
And when the dust had all but cleared
They called it Levelland, the pride of man
In Levelland
Granddad grew the dryland wheat
Stood on his own two feet
His mind got incomplete and they put in the home
Daddy’s cotton grows so high
Sucks the water table dry
Rolling sprinklers circle round
Bleedin’ it to the bone
And I won’t be here when it comes a day
It all dries up and blows away
I’d hang around just to see
But they never had much use for me in Levelland
They don’t understand me out in Levelland
And I watch those jet trails carving up that big blue sky
Coast to coasters watch ‘em go
And I never would blame ‘em one damn bit
If they never looked down on this
Not much here they’d wanna know
Just Levelland
Far as you can point your hand
Nothin’ but Levelland
Mama used to roll her hair
Back before the central air
We’d sit outside and watch the stars at night
She’d tell me to make a wish
I’d wish we both could fly
Don’t think she’s seen the sky
Since we got the satellite dish and
I can hear the marching band
Doin’ the best they can
They’re playing “Smoke on the Water”, “Joy to the World”
I’ve paid off all my debts
Got some change left over yet and I’m
Gettin’ on a whisper jet
I’m gonna fly as far as I can get from
Levelland, doin’ the best I can
Out in Levelland - imagine that
Believe me, the town is named appropriately.
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