Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell attorneys assisted Port Everglades in negotiating a 30-year lease and operating agreement with Florida East Coast Railway to develop an intermodal container transfer facility at the Port, located in Broward County, Florida.  The facility, which will become operational at the beginning of 2014, will be used to transfer international containers directly between ship and rail within the Port.  By eliminating the need for trucks to haul containers to and from off-port rail terminals, the facility is expected to reduce congestion on interstate and local highways and reduce air emissions by diverting an estimated 180,000 trucks by 2027.  Construction, maintenance, and operation of the facility is also expected to create new short- and long-term jobs, spur additional capital projects in Broward County, and open new trading lanes to and from South America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.  Attorneys from Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell assisted the Port in negotiating the public-private agreement, which was a prerequisite for securing a $30 million loan for the project from the Florida State Infrastructure Bank.  The Broward County Board of County Commissioners gave final approval for the agreement on Tuesday, January 31st.  Read the County’s press release for additional details.