Facilities: Corpus Christi, Everglades

Port Corpus Christi has completed the La Quinta Channel Extension Project with a ceremony on February 7. Rail tracks and crane pads are being installed in preparation for the opening this summer of the Port Everglades Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF).  

Corpus Christi Completes La Quinta Channel Extension

Port Corpus Christi celebrates the completion of the La Quinta Channel Extension Project with a ceremony on February 7. The project for navigation and ecosystem restoration is part of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project authorized by Section 1001(40) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Funding for the construction contracts was approved on May 17, 2011, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Construction contracts for the La Quinta Channel Extension and the Ecosystem Restoration projects were awarded on September 22, 2011. The port covered $11 million of the $41 million project cost, with the balance coming from the federal government.  

Key elements of the project included:

• Extending the La Quinta Ship Channel approximately 1.4 miles to a depth of -41 feet MLT. 
• Constructing an ecosystem restoration feature. 
• Creating a breakwater and shallow water habitat beneficial use site. 

The ecosystem restoration consists of an offshore rock breakwater and shore protection and will protect and enhance approximately 45 acres of seagrass habitat. Additional improvements include approximately 200 acres of shallow water habitat created by the beneficial use of dredged material.  

According to the port, the channel extension supports the development at La Quinta Terminal, as well as the voestalpine Texas Holding's HBI production plant, the TPCO American Corp. Steel Pipe mill, Cheniere Energy’s proposed natural gas liquefaction plant, and the Gulf Compress Cotton Storage Facility. 

La Quinta Trade Gateway Terminal is a major component of the port authority’s long-term development plan. Located on a 1,100-acre greenfield site on the north side of Corpus Christi Bay, this fully permitted project when completed will include deep water access (-45 feet), a multipurpose dock facility, 3,600-foot channel frontage, 150 acres of container/general cargo storage yard and intermodal rail. Container throughput capacity will be approximately 1.0 million TEUs annually.

FEC Begins Laying Tracks for New Port Everglades Rail Yard 

Rail tracks and crane pads are being installed for the new Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) at Port Everglades. Slated to open this summer, the $73 million, 43-acre near-dock rail facility in the port’s Southport containerized cargo area will be used to transfer domestic and international shipping containers between ship and rail. It will replace FEC’s existing 12-acre intermodal yard, located several miles from the port in Fort Lauderdale. 

In addition to installing the rail tracks and crane pads, buildings are under construction; the road to the facility is ready to be paved. The Port Everglades ICTF will enable FEC to assemble 9,000-foot unit trains without blocking city streets and allow the movement of cargo through Port Everglades to/from Atlanta, Charlotte in two days, and Nashville and Memphis in three days. 

Port Everglades contributed the land, valued at $20 million, for the ICTF. Construction costs, estimated to total $53 million, are being funded by an $18 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) Strategic Intermodal System program, a $30 million FDOT State Infrastructure Bank loan to FEC, and $5 million from FEC.

American Association of Port Authorities
Asociación Americana de Autoridades Portuarias
1201 Maryland Ave SW, Suite 860, Washington, D.C. 20024
E: info@aapa-ports.org
W: www.aapa-ports.org