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November 18, 2014 |
Congestion Relief: Long Beach, New York/New Jersey
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Acting to relieve cargo delivery delays, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on November 13 approved the use of Port of Long Beach property as a temporary site for the storage of empty containers. So doing, the port says, will help to free up needed equipment to move cargo out of shipping terminals faster.
The "Temporary Empty Container Depot" will be operated on 30 acres of a vacant, undeveloped area on Pier S on Terminal Island.
The temporary depot will help put back into circulation more of the chassis -- the wheeled trailer-frames that trucks use to haul cargo containers. As the port explains, many terminals are congested due to the current peak in cargo volume and have no room to accept empty cargo containers. That means more space is needed to temporarily store those empties. The temporary empty container storage depot will provide a location for truckers to deliver empty containers and remove them from a chassis, and then use the chassis to pick up and haul loaded containers to their destination.
The depot will be operated by a private company, Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals, under a permit that will expire at the end of March 2015.
"The depot could be ready to start accepting empty containers in two weeks, which would bring some needed relief to our tenants and the entire supply chain," said Port Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. "This will help correct the chassis supply imbalance."
The depot is one of several measures the port is pursuing to relieve the congestion issues that have come with the surge of cargo in the last two months. It blames a busy peak shipping season, the advent of larger ships and a change in the ownership system for chassis fleets for the congestion it has been experiencing this year.
The port is considering operating its own chassis fleet for peak cargo shipping seasons and peak demand. It also facilitated the introduction by private chassis fleets of an additional 3,000 chassis into the local area.
New York/New Jersey: Draft Study Outlines Alternatives for Cross-Harbor Freight MovementA comprehensive Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Cross-Harbor Freight Program released November 13 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the U.S. Federal Administration identifies alternatives to improve the movement of freight across the Hudson River and New York Harbor.
The Tier 1 DEIS examines at 11 possible alternatives, including waterborne and rail based options as well as a "no action" alternative. After receiving and considering public comment, the agencies will seek to focus on a more limited number of alternatives for further study and analysis.
The port authority began its review of the freight movement problem in 2009, due to worsening conditions within the region stemming from an almost total reliance on trucks to transport goods. These worsening conditions included traffic congestion, severe wear and tear on highways and interstate crossings, consumption of fossil fuels, and resulting air emissions. The problem is projected to worsen over the next 20 years, given that freight movement in the region is projected to increase by 37 percent. The DEIS specifically targets the movement of freight such as commodities, raw materials, agriculture, consumer products and other industrial and finished goods.
The document contains in-depth review of the 11 possible alternatives, including a "no action" option. The options include:
- An enhanced railcar float operation
- A lift-on, lift-off container barge
- A roll-on, roll-off container barge
- A Truck Float
- A Truck Ferry
- A double-stack, double-track rail tunnel
- A rail tunnel with a shuttle service alternative
- A rail tunnel with a Chunnel Service alternative. This alternative would carry trucks through a tunnel on special railcars, similar to the English Channel Tunnel. Trucks would be positioned on the railcars at two terminals located at the Oak Island Yard in New Jersey and the East New York Yard in Brooklyn.
- A rail tunnel with Automated Guided Vehicle Technology Alternative
- A Rail Tunnel with Truck Access Alternative
Before the list of alternatives was identified, the project team reviewed an initial group of 27 build alternatives. For the 11 alternatives, each was analyzed based on the ability to capture a portion of the freight traffic now moving by truck, as well as a high-level consideration of potential environmental effects.
The process will help identify an alternative or alternatives that merit further study, including a more detailed, site-specific review of environmental effects and potential mitigation measures, to enable decision-makers to select projects for implementation and funding.
The port authority already has invested in ways to more efficiently move cargo throughout the region. Since late 2008, the agency has owned and operated New York-New Jersey Rail, LLC, the only car float operation in Upper New York Bay. The operation moves cargo by both water and rail between New Jersey and markets east of the Hudson River, including New York City and Long Island. Cargo moved by the facility has grown steadily every year since the Port Authority took over its operation. This September, the agency's Board approved a redevelopment of Greenville Yard – which houses the car float operation – and will invest in major upgrades to the facility.
An extensive public comment period on the Tier 1 DEIS will now begin and will run until late February 2015. In addition, a series of public hearings in both New York and New Jersey will be held in early 2015. A Record of Decision, identifying an alternative or alternatives selected for further study, is expected in the summer of 2015. Click here for the Tier 1 DEIS.
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