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March 2010 >>
National Highlights: Port Expansions and Upgrades
At ports from coast to coast, authorities are buzzing about major capital improvement projects to build long overdue expansions and upgrades for international shipping, tourism and storm protection. Here is a snapshot of a few new and upcoming projects.
CALIFORNIA
Mission Bay Channel, San Diego County
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began repairing damages to San Diego’s Mission Bay jetty in the fall, thanks to a $10.5 million federal stimulus award. The project involves relocating dangerous rocks that were left beneath the water’s surface by a 1998 winter storm.
The Corps will build the project in two phases: rebuilding 250 feet of the south jetty and performing necessary channel dredging work. The removed sand will be used to widen a section of Mission Beach.
San Pedro Waterfront Project, Port of Los Angeles
A waterfront revitalization project to build three new harbors, a public pier, a cruise ship terminal, pedestrian walkways and 300,000 square feet of commercial space at the Port of Los Angeles is in the
conceptual design phase. The Los Angeles Port of Harbor Commissioners approved funding for the $1.2 billion San Pedro Waterfront Project, which will encompass 400 acres approximately 20 miles south of downtown.
Associated Builders and Contractors of California is lobbying against the city council’s request that all future construction projects at the port include project labor agreements.
FLORIDA
Miami Port Tunnel, Florida DOT/City of Miami/Miami-Dade County
Local and state officials gave the green light to the $1 billion Port of Miami tunnel project to be built under Biscayne Bay between the MacArthur Causeway and the seaport. Nearly three decades in the making, the project is intended to ease traffic congestion by diverting cargo trucks from city roadways.
A private, French-led consortium called Miami Access Tunnel is beginning fabrication of a tunnel-boring machine capable of digging 100 feet beneath the shipping canal to create two separate 3-mile tunnels, each 36 feet wide. Construction is expected to last approximately five years, with the tunnel opening to traffic by 2015.
Construction costs will be split among the Florida Department of Transportation, the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County.
Master/Vision Plan, Port Everglades, Broward County
Port Everglades’ 20-year Master/Vision Plan, approved by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners in fiscal year 2008, includes a wish list to reconfigure berths to accommodate larger cruise, cargo and petroleum ships; an intermodal container transfer facility to link to Florida’s rail system; replacement of bulkhead infrastructure; roadway improvements; and habitat protection.
Port Everglades began implementing a few of these projects through its five-year Capital Improvement Plan, which has a $422 million budget through 2012. For example, the recent expansion of Cruise Terminal 18 created 240,000 square feet of staging space in time for the fall arrival of Royal Caribbean International’s $1.24 billion Oasis of the Seas, one of the world’s biggest cruise ships.
GEORGIA
Savannah Harbor, Georgia Ports Authority
The $1.4 billion Savannah Harbor Expansion Project has received federal funding for a massive harbor deepening effort to prepare the harbor for larger ships and future commercial growth. It is expected to create a significant number of construction and marine-related jobs in the region. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is drafting a report and completing environmental impact studies for public comment this month.
MARYLAND
Port of Baltimore, Maryland Port Administration
Ports America has agreed to construct a 50-foot berth for the Port of Baltimore in exchange for leased space at the Seagirt Marine Terminal, owned by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).
By creating space for larger vessels to dock at the port, the project would increase economic opportunities for the city as well as generate an estimated 5,700 new jobs. Investment and revenue could generate $15.7 million per year in new taxes for the state of Maryland. The 50-year agreement between MPA and Ports America is under review by the Board of Public Works.
MICHIGAN
Port of Detroit, Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority
The Port of Detroit received $7.1 million in federal stimulus funding to build a two-story port authority headquarters on the Detroit River and an offshore wharf for cruise ships, ferries and water taxis connecting to Windsor, Ontario, and other riverfront stops.
The project is part of a series of riverfront renewal developments, such as a new 3½-mile Detroit RiverWalk from downtown heading east to the Belle Isle park bridge. The $22 million terminal and public dock will be completed this summer.
NORTH CAROLINA
Port of Wilmington, North Carolina Ports Authority
After reporting a 28 percent increase in container moves for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 compared to the same period last year, the North Carolina Ports Authority is seeking grant funding to resume construction of one of the Port of Wilmington’s container berths to extend its capabilities.
Plans also are progressing for development of the North Carolina International Terminal in Brunswick County and supporting highway transportation.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Union Pier Cruise Terminal Master Plan, South Carolina State Ports Authority
After a series of community planning sessions, the South Carolina State Ports Authority is broadening its Union Pier Terminal Master Plan for Charleston to encompass additional property along the Cooper River.
Cooper, Robertson & Partners has been hired to conceptualize a cruise terminal design reflecting the character of Charleston and providing better access to the waterfront. The master plan will be presented to the public this month.
VIRGINIA
Craney Island Marine Terminal, Virginia Port Authority
In October, the Craney Island Marine Terminal expansion project in Hampton Roads was promised $100,000 in the federal appropriations budget—a step that helps advance the $2.2 billion, multi-phase project and qualifies it for future federal stimulus money.
The new facility is envisioned as the most modern marine terminal in the United States: a 600-acre complex including 8,400 linear feet of berth space, 20 Suez-class cranes and an on-terminal intermodal container transfer facility. Upon completion in the next 20 to 25 years, the terminal would have the capacity for at least 3 million TEUs. The first phase of work is scheduled to begin in 2011.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012