Louisiana Economic Development has finalized a $1 million FastSites investment to advance a new industrial rail spur at the Port of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, closing a critical funding gap on the $7 million project and strengthening the port’s ability to support existing industry and attract new investment.
The state’s investment will support development of a rail spur connecting the Port of Columbia to the Union Pacific mainline. The FastSites funding complements $6 million already committed to the project and will help maintain the project’s schedule as the port works to establish public industrial rail access for the region.
The Port of Columbia is a 400-acre LED Certified Site with direct access to the Ouachita River and U.S. Highway 165. The rail spur will add a third freight option to those existing transportation assets, creating a site served by rail, highway and water and expanding the ways businesses can move materials and products.
As part of FastSites’ revolving investment model, repayment is scheduled to begin in 2027, with the full $1 million returned by the end of 2031. This structure allows Louisiana to reinvest those funds into future site and infrastructure projects across the state. The Port of Columbia anticipates advertising the project for bids in November 2026, with construction expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and be completed by 2028.
