Louisiana Economic Development is lending $1 million to build a rail spur linking the Port of Columbia directly to Union Pacific's main line, closing the funding gap on a $7 million infrastructure project in Northeast Louisiana.

The loan comes through the state agency's FastSites program, which exists precisely for moments like this one: committed money, but not quite enough of it. The port already secured funding from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and federal dollars through the Delta Regional Authority's Community Infrastructure Fund. The state loan fills what remained.

"For a rural port like Columbia, FastSites provides critical gap financing that allows us to turn committed infrastructure funding into a project under construction," Columbia Port Commission President Darron McGuffee said in a release.

What does the spur actually connect?

The geography matters. The port sits on a 400-acre site with direct access to the Ouachita River and U.S. Route 165, about 30 miles south of Monroe, Louisiana. Its land is adjacent to Union Pacific's (NYSE: UNP) Monroe Subdivision — so close that a spur, not a full line build, is enough to plug the port into the Class I's network.

That adjacency is the whole commercial logic of the project. A short spur converts a barge-and-truck port into a trimodal facility overnight, giving regional shippers a third routing option and, with it, leverage in freight negotiations they currently don't have.

"The FastSites investment gives the port the financial flexibility needed to keep the project moving and maintain our construction schedule," McGuffee said. "More importantly, this rail spur will provide public access to Union Pacific's main line for our region, creating new transportation opportunities for existing businesses while strengthening our ability to attract future industrial investment like Louisiana Green Fuels."

The mention of Louisiana Green Fuels is deliberate. Rural ports rarely fund rail spurs for the traffic they have; they fund them for the traffic they want. A public rail connection strengthens the port's hand in courting industrial tenants that need unit-train or carload capacity without building their own sidings.

Why state officials are backing it

State Sen. Glen Womack framed the spur as regional connectivity rather than a single-port play.

"Adding rail access at the Port of Columbia opens another path for businesses across Northeast Louisiana to move goods and reach markets," Womack said. "That kind of connectivity strengthens our ability to support the industries already operating here while creating more possibilities for companies looking to invest in the region."

For Union Pacific, the project costs nothing and adds a public-access customer tap on its Monroe Subdivision. For truckers and barge operators serving the port, the calculus cuts the other way — rail competition typically pressures over-the-road rates on lanes where shippers previously had one or two options.

What's the timeline?

The schedule is tight by public-infrastructure standards. The port expects to open the project for bids in November. Construction would begin in the first quarter of 2027 and wrap up by 2028, meaning shippers in the Monroe-Columbia corridor are still more than two years from seeing the first carload move.

Until then, the port's cargo will continue moving via the Ouachita River and Route 165, with the spur's promise of main-line access — and the industrial investment it's designed to attract — waiting on a 2027 groundbreaking.