A newly built railroad service just outside of Reno, Nevada, is helping goods shipped into the U.S. travel further inland while cutting down vehicle emissions.
For most of its history, large shipments from overseas would arrive at the Port of Oakland in California and the containers would sit along the shore, waiting for a truck driver to load them and take them east. But the Port of Nevada was built to move shipments faster, its developer Industrial Realty Group said.
Construction on the railroad service began in 2020, and IRG finished the project in June 2024. The port is such a noteworthy addition to the shipping and logistics scene in the West that it has earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for commercial development of the year in Reno.
The 30-acre project is in Fernley, Nevada, and it stretches west to California, following the path of U.S. Highway 50. The rail service connects to the Port of Oakland, and officials said there are plans to connect to the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Before the Port of Nevada existed, shipments would travel east, via truck, along U.S. Interstate 80 — causing more congestion and carbon emissions on that major roadway, IRG officials said. Moving goods via rail reduces the number of trucks and leaves more space on I-80 for commuters.
About the project: The Port of Nevada lives in a very remote part of Nevada, where parts of the ground are not sturdy enough to lay railroad tracks or hold staging areas for shipping containers. Construction teams dug 36 inches into the ground in parts of the land and filled the area with "structural fill" — which is a mixture of dirt, gravel, clay and sand. The structural fill helped create a stable-enough foundation for the shipping container yard and rail track extensions.
Construction crews also built an 8-foot berm — a raised mound of dirt and gravel — that blocks the railroad view from people driving along Highway 50.
What the judges said: "The Port of Nevada gives companies all over the world a reason to have a presence in Northern Nevada," said Ben Galles of CBRE. "By having direct access to the Port of Oakland and future access to the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, this gives a big advantage to the region for future employment growth in the future."
They made it happen: Justin Lichter is Industrial Realty Group's chief investment officer. Others involved in the project include IRG Vice President of Rail Operations Michael Shabinaw, IRG Project Manager Bill Staab and IRG General Manager Keri Swift.