As the year comes to a close, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge is buzzing with construction as it works to expand and support growth in the coming year and decade.
Construction is underway on the Inland Rivers Marine Terminal expansion, with about 25% of the work completed, says port executive director Jay Hardman. The $4.5 million expansion will grow the yard an additional 3.5 acres, allowing the port to handle and hold an additional 700 containers.
The project is a joint venture between the port and the Port Construction and Development Priority Program through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Weather permitting, Hardman says, the expansion is expected to wrap up around May or June.
Work on a $20 million rail project, which is bringing four rail tracks deeper into the port to serve the Louis Dreyfus Company Port Allen Elevator facility, is also underway. In May, Gov. John Bel Edwards committed capital outlay funds to complete the project and a contractor was selected last month. Hardman says construction should start by the third quarter of 2020.
Last year, the port moved more than 13,600 containers, a 66% increase from 2017’s approximately 8,200 containers. Although 2019 numbers haven’t been finalized, Hardman says he expects the figures to be larger than 2018 and for those numbers to keep growing as the port enters the new decade, mostly due to the growth in shipping wood pellets and liquid bulk cargo.
“I think 2020 will be another growth year for us,” Hardman says, adding they’re considering developing a fourth deepwater berth at the port to support the increase in activity.
