The first phase of construction for a huge grain transfer terminal in the Mississippi River across from Louisiana will begin within a couple of weeks.

SIMCO Grain has gotten federal and state regulatory approval to build the million-dollar facility.

Plans call for silos and a loading dock on the east side of the Sny Island Drainage District Levee south of the Champ Clark Bridge. A 1,000-foot conveyor would carry grain to a pier-supported barge terminal on the river.

SIMCO is short for Sny Island Merchandising Company. SIMCO President Greg Dolbeare said initial work on a road access, levee crossing and temporary causeway on the Illinois side at Pike Station should begin shortly. Conveyor pilings and moorings will be built next summer.

The facility will offer four to five jobs. Dolbeare says that completed next year, the terminal will offer a modern place where grain producers in a 35-mile region will be able to ship their products.

The Louisiana man has four decades of experience in managing grain elevators and in the development of shipping facilities along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers.