Dredging, rail, bridge replacement top the list By Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOT The global economic downturn has hit cargo volumes at the port of New York and New Jersey in the last couple of years appears. But with apparent signs of a recovery, the Port Authority is looking at a growth year in 2010 and continued cargo growth over the long term. Making the necessary infrastructure investments to support this growth, remains a top priority of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cargo volumes grew by 8 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to Rick Larrabee, executive director of the Port Authority’s port commerce department, in an exclusive interview with the American Journal of Transportation. “Last year we anticipated a growth rate of 3 percent in 2010,” he said. “Right now we are looking at 6 to 7 percent growth for the year. I’m not suggesting we are out of the woods but we have more reason for optimism.” The number one capital spending priority for the Port Authority continues to be dredging projects. “We anticipate completing our harbor deepening projects by 2014 and will continue this year and next,” said Larrabee. “Five or six contracts still need to be let.” The dreading will deepen the harbor and its channels to 50 feet. “The channels have been the backbone of our redevelopment programs since 2001,” said Larrabee. “We have made steady progress and we continue to get funding support from the federal government each year.” Increasing the port’s on-dock and near-dock rail capacities is another major capital priority for the Port Authority. “Rail continues to be a major element of our strategy,” said Larrabee. “We’ve completed the second lead track to Port Elizabeth and the storage track west of Corbin Street. The focus now is on improving the Port Newark facility and that includes some significant track work.” One of these projects include building a flyover from the Port Newark Container Terminal across Corbin Street to the rail yard. “Now we have to dray containers across Corbin Street,” said Larrabee. “The addition of a flyover will be a significant benefit to the terminal. The improvements will dramatically improve the ease of operation as well as the capacity of the terminal.” Port Newark Container Terminal will ultimately have capacity of 250,000 lifts when completed towards the end of 2012. The Port Authority is also in the middle of another rail project at the Greenville Yard in Jersey City. “We will start construction on that project later this year after the design work is completed,” said Larrabee. “The first phase of the project will be completed in 2013 and will add capacity for 125,000 lifts. The project will be built in phases for total additional capacity of 250,000 lifts.” All told port rail projects will increase capacity form the current 950,000 lifts to 1.3 million lifts. “Our goal is to have 20 percent of the port’s volume to be handled by rail,” said Larrabee. That figure stands at 12 to 13 percent today. Although the Port Authority’s ExpressRail saw a drop in usage last year, Larrabee expects a turnaround as the recession eases and price of fuel increases. “As we get back to normal pricing for diesel, we expect fairly dramatic increases in the demand for rail service,” he said. “We also are working toward making rail work over shorter distances. That is going to be based on volumes and the cost of diesel.” Norfolk Southern and CSX have initiated new direct services to Harrisburg and Buffalo respectively. Another capital challenge facing the Port Authority involves the Bayonne Bridge, which crosses the access channels to Port Elizabeth and Port Newark between Bayonne, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y.. The bridge has a central clearance of between 151 feet and 156 feet, depending on the tides, not enough to accommodate larger container ships. The port is expecting increasing numbers of big ships following completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2015. A study commissioned by the Port Authorit