Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) said that its year-long project to expand vehicle Berth 22 at the port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal is complete. The berth is the first of two vehicle berth projects in a USD60 million total initiative to increase efficiencies and accommodate additional vehicle vessel calls.
Berth 22 can accommodate vehicle vessels approximately 750 ft (229 m) in length overall. Construction of a new vehicle berth at Blount Island is also under way; works are expected to take 24 months to complete.
“These upgrades allow us to serve our auto customers more efficiently while providing additional capacity for future growth, so we can continue to build on our position as one of the nation’s top vehicle-handling ports,” said Jaxport ceo Eric Green.
The Florida Department of Transportation provided 75 percent of the project’s funds, with Jaxport contributing the remainder.
HLPFI reported earlier this month that Jaxport was gearing up for a year of expansion, with major infrastructure upgrades across its breakbulk, container, and automotive terminals. In terms of breakbulk cargoes, Jaxport said that terminal operator Enstructure will expand its current operations at the Talleyrand terminal once Southeast Toyota relocates to Blount Island. Improvements at Talleyrand include the addition of a 250,000 sq ft (23,225 sq m) warehouse, which will increase the port’s on-terminal covered capacity to handle non-containerised cargo such as forest products by 20 percent.
