$190M rail project at Camp Hall in Berkeley County enters next phase
Hollie Moore — CRBJ
After seven years of planning, the Camp Hall Rail project is now in phase two of its five-phase railway connection.
Spearheaded by Palmetto Railways and Santee Cooper, the rail project will connect the Camp Hall Rail Line to the existing CSX rail network near the Santee Cooper Cross Generating Station in Berkeley County, according to a Palmetto Railways map. The CSX rail network spans the length of the eastern U.S.
“The target has been to differentiate ourselves having products that are ready to go, that can be utilized quickly … uniqueness is evident, and it’s neat and clean,” Dan Camp, vice president of real estate for Santee Cooper, said. “But more importantly, its focused on people, attracting and retaining workforce.”
Camp Hall, owned by Santee Cooper, began as the result of South Carolina’s recruitment of Volvo in 2015, Patrick McCrory, CEO and president of Palmetto Railways, said.
The rail project is 23 miles of track broken into five phases of development, McCrory said. Phase one was onsite at the Volvo plant and began in May 2023.
Currently, the project is in phase two, which is the railway construction beginning from the top connection to the Santee Cooper Cross Generating Station and working back to the commerce center, McCrory said. Kiewit construction leads the current phase and for each phase, construction companies will bid to procure leading the next phase.
“Our focus is to make sure that we serve the plants, Redwood and Volvo, efficiently and safely,” McCrory said. “If there’s further development along the line in the future, we’ll support that as it coordinates with the local landowner’s and the county.”
You can learn more about the project here.
Having the connection of the Camp Hall commerce park to a CSX railway allows opportunity for companies and manufacturers in the park, such as Volvo and Redwood Materials, to have easy access to train transportation of materials, Camp said.
“It’s a great relationship working for Palmetto Rail, Patrick and his team. It’s a good partnership,” Camp said.
The Camp Hall Rail project is intended to be completed by the end of 2026, McCrory said.
Funding for the project comes from federal and state governments, Palmetto Railways, CSX and Volvo, McCrory said. By the end, the project is expected to cost about $190 million.
The remaining space in the Camp Hall commerce park is called Avian Commons, dedicated to tech, research and more office spaces to hold those companies, as well as retail opportunities, Camp said.
According to the Camp Hall website, Avian Commons is centered around catering to the employees of Camp Hall. As an example, ReFuel will be opening a location in the commons within a couple months, having bought the 1.14-acre parcel for $1.25 million in Aug 2023.
