Tell City completes River Road project, boosting freight access and safety

Heavy trucks moving to and from the Tell City River Port now have a direct Route to State Road 66, a change local leaders say will pull freight off downtown streets, cut wear on city pavement and make the port safer and more efficient. The River Road project, a long-planned fix years in the making, has been completed after Phase 2 began in March 2025 and pushed the total investment to nearly $6 million.

The road matters because the port is not a small industrial site. The Tell City River Port sits on the Ohio River at mile marker 727, is owned by the City of Tell City and operated by the Perry County Port Authority. It handles bulk materials including pig iron, coke, coal and woodchips, and its property includes nearly 38 acres, about 3,300 feet of river frontage, nearly 75,000 square feet of concrete and asphalt pad storage, more than 46,000 square feet of building space and another 3,500 feet of undeveloped river frontage. The port is also served by the Hoosier Southern Railroad, which makes the new road link even more important for a freight hub that depends on both rail and truck access.

Local officials framed the project as more than a paving job. Mayor Chris Cail called it an investment in Tell City’s future and pointed to the safety benefit of keeping larger trucks away from downtown streets. Perry County Port Authority general manager Jared Kleemann said dependable access to the riverport is critical for the industries the county serves. The project grew out of years of coordination among the Perry County Port Authority, the City of Tell City, Perry County and the City of Cannelton, tied together through an Indiana Department of Transportation Local Public Agency grant that used an 80/20 funding split.

The road work also added a walking and biking trail connected to the existing Tell City Greenway, extending that system by about 1.5 miles. That makes the project relevant not only to freight operators and industrial users, but also to residents who use the trail network for daily recreation and safer off-road travel.

River access has been tied to economic hopes in Tell City for decades. In 2006, investors proposed a barge-building operation that was expected to create 150 to 200 jobs, a reminder that the riverfront has long been seen as a place where infrastructure can shape employment and growth. The River Road completion now gives the city and county a visible answer to that long-running goal, while building on more than $2.7 million in Community Crossings Matching Grant funds Tell City has received since 2020 for paving and other roadway improvements.