Infrastructure: Miami, New York

PortMiami Counting Down to the Completion of the 50/52 Deep Dredge

PortMiami is counting down to the completion of the Deep Dredge project that is deepening the port’s main harbor channel from -42 feet to a depth of -50/52 feet.

Dredging began in August 2013 and will be completed this July, well before the opening of the expanded Panama Canal.

More than $1 billion of capital infrastructure projects are transforming PortMiami. Already in place are new Super Post-Panamax gantry cranes that can service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide with up to nine containers above deck and eleven containers below; new on-dock intermodal rail service linking PortMiami to 70 percent of the U.S. population in four days or less; as well as a tunnel linking the port directly to the Interstate Highway System.

"We’re grateful to the vision of our state and local leaders for making this critical infrastructure project a reality," said PortMiami Director and CEO Juan M. Kuryla, PPM®. "I am proud to say that PortMiami will be able to berth post-Panamax ships this summer."

New York State Budget Allocates $65 Million for Port and Rail Hub Infrastructure

The newly-enacted New York State budget for 2015-2016 includes $65 million for port and rail infrastructure projects. Specifically provided are:

$15 million for enhancements at the Port of Albany to ensure upstate New York is ready to handle the projected increase in volume of containerized cargo resulting from the Panama Canal expansion of 2016. The state’s investment will support improvements to the port’s southern dock to expand shipping capacity and serve grain operations.
$10 million for improvements to the Port of Ogdensburg’s facilities and equipment, including harbor deepening to accommodate larger ships and expanded grain and salt storage
$40 million to link the Port of Oswego with the Port of New York & New Jersey and to create additional intermodal rail yards in Syracuse and Binghamton. The objective is to reduce truck traffic on downstate highways, increase existing export activity, build small and medium sized enterprise export capacity in upstate locations, and expand efforts of regional service providers.

A statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office says the funding will support "a statewide initiative to finance large-scale, complex infrastructure projects and mobilize innovative project delivery methods, including design-build and public private partnerships."