Over a decade ago the Port of Corpus Christi foresaw the congestion problems now plaguing North America's traditional international gateways for containerized cargo and the negative impact it is having on the operations of ocean carriers that serve those ports. Further impacted by this growing congestion are the importers and exporters that depend upon those ports for the efficient movement of their goods, as a result the Port of Corpus Christi conceived the La Quinta Trade Gateway Container Terminal as a rational solution to the problem of growing congestion. The port has issued a Request For Quotation (RFQ) for development and operation of the terminal.
'We knew then that more ocean terminal capacity was going to be needed, and that to be effective in curing a major (and growing) congestion problem the new terminals should be placed in locations where the port, highway and rail systems have the capacity to serve the business efficiently,' said John LaRue, Executive Director of the Port of Corpus Christi.
The need for new and efficient solutions to the well-known limitations of the North American port and intermodal network has thus created an opportunity for the Port of Corpus Christi to participate in the growing volume of containerized trade by serving the shippers and carriers in a new way.
To take advantage of this opportunity the Port moved forward with the purchase of 1,100 acres of land on Corpus Christi Bay near Corpus Christi, Texas, and since then has undertaken and completed:
- Market reviews of the proposed terminal's volume potential,
- Engineering studies of the site,
- Highway traffic impact analysis for the terminal and its feeder roads,
- Environmental studies as required for obtaining critical permits, and
- Numerous public meetings resulting in very positive support.
This work succeeded in allowing the Port to obtain US Army Corps of Engineers permits for building the ship channel extension and the ocean terminal, often some of the most difficult, expensive and time-consuming tasks in developing a new terminal. 'With this work behind us and the US Congress' recent passage of WRDA (Water Resources Development Act), we are now ready to move forward with the development of the La Quinta Trade Gateway,' said LaRue.
