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including Greensboro en route. In northern Greensboro, U.S. 29, between Danville and Greensboro, has also
been designated as Interstate 785.
The
Urban Loop
, a 44-mile state-constructed beltway around Greensboro, is in progress at a cost of $900
million, with over 30 miles of the roadway completed. The Southern and portions of the Eastern and Western
Loop are currently open. The construction on the last leg of the Western portion is split into two phases with
the first phase slated to begin in 2017 and the second phase to be completed in 2018. The Northern and
Eastern Loop are in various stages of construction with a concentration on 15 miles from the western end near
the Piedmont Triad International Airport eastward to US 70. Construction of the Northern portion and linking
I-73 with the Urban Loop is scheduled to begin right of way acquisition in 2016 and construction in 2018.
The entire project has been funded by the N. C. legislature. Nearly one-third of the region’s
transportation/logistics clusters of industries are located in the greater Greensboro area.
Federal Express
began operating a major aircraft hub and cargo handling facility at PTIA in 2009. The cargo
handling facility is located on an approximately 160 acre site that has been leased by the Authority to Federal
Express for an initial term of 25 years. The cost of the $500 million cargo handling facility was funded by
Federal Express, and the Authority constructed a new 9,000-foot public runway parallel to an existing
runway, as well as related taxiway, airfield and road improvements. The expansive FedEx Ground
distribution center is part of an ongoing nationwide network expansion and transit time acceleration plan to
boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of its network.
The 415,000 square foot hub has a workforce of 550 full and part-time employees and about 200 independent
contractor opportunities. This facility features the latest in automated handling technology and can process
24,000 packages per hour. With projected future expansion, the hub could eventually process 45,000
packages per hour serving the Southeast Region.
To further augment this growing logistics network,
United Parcel Service (UPS) Ground
has a more than
280,000 square foot small package operations hub capable of sorting more than 59,000 packages per hour.
UPS Freight has a facility which moves approximately 1 million pounds of freight daily. Together with its
High Point operations, UPS employs over 2,000 people in the area (Greensboro Economic Development
Alliance).
In addition, Greensboro is favored for business location due to its readily available labor pool, robust
educational training from seven colleges and universities located in the City, expanding roadway, rail, air and
fiber communications infrastructure and close proximity to several major eastern seaports. The Colonial
Pipeline is also located in the Triad with a large fuel transfer/storage facility near PTIA.
City leaders are currently working with economic development officials in the region related to
development of potential “
Megasites
”, those locations typically greater than 1,000 acres that could house
a large manufacturing facility, such as an auto assembly operation. In particular, two sites within twenty-
five miles of Greensboro in nearby Randolph and Chatham counties could offer 1,480 and 1,818 acres,
respectively. The Randolph site reached a milestone in June, 2016, receiving industrial site certification
that designates the site as construction ready for a large-scale industrial user. The City of Greensboro is
preparing to provide needed water and sewer infrastructure to the Randolph site, with design, permitting
work and easement purchases in process for service delivery within 24 months of a prospective company
using the site. The Chatham site received official state certification as a megasite in June, 2014 and was
selected to participate in Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program that helps officials recruit major
industries. In support of these initiatives, a nonprofit foundation, Golden Leaf, has pledged $25 million
for NC megasite infrastructure needs to make them more competitive and attract major industrial users.
Greensboro has applied to the foundation to fund a portion of the Randolph sewer line project.
In 2015, the City of Greensboro took 9th place in the annual
Digital Cities Survey
for cities with a
population of 250,000 or more. The survey recognizes cities that use technology to improve services and
boost efficiencies. Greensboro was recognized in part for its effort in forming the
Tri-Gig High Speed