b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(BUSTLEcontinued fromJoe, which has struggled since page 6) closureoftheSt.JoeCo. of Mrsks America Shuttlepaper mill in the late 1990s, is 2 service, with vessels arriv- seeing new life thanks to the ingweeklyfromCartagena,growing presence of Panama Colombia, and linking to theCity,Florida-basedEastern East-West Network of MrskShipbuilding Group Inc. and Gemini Cooperation part- The company is using the ner Hapag-Lloyd. Port of Port St. Joe bulkhead Officialspointtoadvan- toputfinishingtoucheson tagesofusingPortTampavessels being constructed 40 Bays container terminal duemiles away at its Panama City to its closeness to the boomingyards and also is running sea distributioncentercorridortrials out of Port St. Joe. The that offers more than 550 mil- activity, which has resulted in lion sq ft of space along Inter- delivery of new Staten Island state4betweenTampaBayFerryboatsandotherves-andOrlando. Thisproximitysels, brings as many as 300 allows drayage trucks to makeemployees and subcontractor multiple roundtrips a day. workers to the site each day.TogetherwithcontainerMeanwhile, the Port St. terminal operator Ports Amer- Joe Port Authority is work- Port Panama City handles a diverse mix of containerized and outside-the-box cargos at its facilities ica, Port Tampa Bay is makingingwiththeGulfCountyon Northwest Floridas Gulf Coast.significantinvestmentstoBoardofCountyCommis-expand capacity, having recentlysioners to secure funding tobreakbulkandbulkcargos,of the turning basin. An $11.25on-dock warehouse for forest addedthreemoreship-to-shorebuildafloatingdrydocktofromexportsofbiomassmillionU.S.Departmentofproducts, plus 200,000 square gantries,bringingitstotalleasetoEasternShipbuild- wood pellets and other forestTransportation Port Infrastruc- feet of paved laydown area. ofsuchcranestofive,withingforvesselmaintenanceproducts to imports of lumbertureDevelopmentProgram plans to acquire two more. Anpurposes, as well as in effortsand steel. competitivegrant,securedinP ort ofP ensaCoLaenhanced gate complex recentlyto establish a maritime acad- Tosupportefficienthan- late2023,issupportingtheAtthenorthwesttipof opened, and paved storage isemyonportpropertyfordling of greater cargo volumes,latest warehouse undertaking. Floridas Panhandle, the Port being expanded, to bring thetrainingofworkerstoilingthe Panama City Port Author- Augmenting the 138-acre,ofPensacolaisexpanding box terminals footprint to 100on the drydock installation. ityismovingaheadwithasix-berthWestTerminalthatoperationswhileincreas-acres. Construction is to begin$60millioninvestmentindates back to 1945, the $66 mil- ing cargo volumes, focusing soononathirddeepwaterP ortP anamaC ity second-phase expansion of itslion first phase of the East Ter- uponsuchkeycommodities berth and a new on-dock rail- Northwest Floridas PortEast Terminal. The project, forminalcommencedoperationsasGEWindEnergycom-served transload warehouse. Panama City, located near thewhich a 2028 ribbon-cutting isin 2020 on 43 acres acquiredponentsandbulkcement. center of the Florida Panhan- planned, includes constructionfrom WestRockin2016. TheTheportslong-termpart-P ort ofP orts t . J oe dle, is anticipating continuedof a second berth, erection ofEastTerminalsinitialphaseners include cement importer AlongtheFloridaPan- growth in activity handling aanadditional200,000-square- includesone36-foot-draft(BUSTLEcontinued on handle,thePortofPortSt.diverse mix of containerized,foot warehouse and extensionberth and a 260,000-square-footpage 17)EXPANDING CAPACITY TOFLORIDAS DISTRIBUTUION HUBTampa/Orlando I-4 Corridor: Over 550 million square feetExpanded terminal capacity with plenty of room for growthof distribution center space Multiple round-trip truck deliveries per day from Port to E-commerce, consumer goods, perishables distribution centersand building materials New and expanded container services with Central The fastest growing region in the fastest growing state America, South America, Mexico, and AsiaWWW.PORTTB.COM'