b'38American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(VIT), the Virginia Port Authoritys non- channel dredging, NIT upgrades, Central stock,non-profitaffiliate,hasoperatedRail Yard expansion and Offshore Wind VIRGINIA PORTS 2025 the Port of Virginia since its creation inimplementation(thetransformationof 1981asanautonomousagencybythePortsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) into state of Virginia. an offshore wind energy hub).Withtheoperationsofthevari- In some respects, the channel dredg-ous terminals placed under the VIT, theing project is the lead for the program as authorityisintheunusualpositionofallotherprojectsfallinplacewiththe beingaportoperatingauthority(undercompletionofdredgingwhichfalls the Commonwealth of Virginia) which inunder the program monicker of Wider, North American port circles is sometimesDeeper, Safer initiative. The goal of the referred to as the Virginia Model. Most$450 million project was to make Nor-of the North American larger ports operatefolk Harbor, and its ocean approaches the as landlord leasing out their facilities todeepest (55-feet deep) and widest on the thirdpartoperations,oftenwell-knownUS East Coast, enabling the simultaneous terminal operating companies.two-waytrafficofultra-largecontainer vessels (ULVCs)containerships carry-c Argof lows ing over 20,000 TEUs and around 1,300 This arrangement has certainly workedfeet in length and a breadth of 200 feet in Virginias case. In the calendar year 2024,and a draft of around 50-feet. the POV notched a throughput of 3,523,512In October, the main portion of the TEUs which makes it the fifth straight yearchannel dredging was complete and the the port broke the 3 million TEU thresh- POVbecametheportwiththewidest old. The 2024 tally also includes 1,840,561and deepest channel on the East Coast, export TEUs, making it one of the top con- openingthedoorstohandlingULVCs tainer export ports in North America. Andbothinboundandoutboundsimultane-thePOVranksthirdontheEastCoast,ously from the container terminals, vastly behindonlytheportsofNew York/Newimproving vessel turnaround times.Jersey and Savannah, Georgia. Although not directly part of the same Like many ports, the trading partnersportprojecttheStatesHamptonRoads ARC Group delivers tunnel boring machine Mary to Norfolk from Europe. reflect the changing geo-political natureBridge-Tunnel(HRBT)ExpansionProj-of trade. On the export side of the ledger,ect, which includes widening the current Port of Virginia posts solid yearIndiaisfarandawaythelargesttradefour-lane segments along almost 10 miles partneraccountingfor11,869,000tonsof the I-64 corridor in Norfolk and Hamp-offreight.TheNetherlands,Brazilandton,withnewtwintunnelsacrossthe with an eye on the future China each notched over 5,000,000 tons.harbor, will like the channel dredging, also On the import side of the ledger, Chinacontribute to greater efficiency in moving The Port of Virginia posted another solid year in 2024, handlingis still the leader at 2,321,000 tons butcontainers to and from the terminals.over3.5millionTEUs.ButtheauthorityhasitseyesontheIndia isnt far behind at 1,735,000 tonsAdditionally, in August of 2024 the future as more infrastructure projects come online. followed by Germany at 1,086,000 tons. POV completed an $83 million expan-The freight tonnage is also reflectedsion of Norfolk International Terminals inthetradelanes.Ontheexportside,(NIT)centralrailyardtoaccommodate By AJOT Staff NorthEuropeleadsthewaywith1.1millionrailTEUsannually,which 14,507,000 tons while India & Otherseffectively doubled the ports annual rail ThePortofVirginiaoverthelastity, the Virginia Inland Port (VIP), locatedis12,423,000tonsandAsiaNortheastlift capacity.dozen years has been without much fan- in Front Royal, Virginia. The Authority9,515,000tons.TradelanetonnageonAmongtheotherprojectsunder-fare improving efficiency and increasingis also responsible for the operations andthe import side is considerably more withwayisthe$650millionoptimization capacity and living up to its moniker ofsecurity of two leased marine terminals:North Europe at 3,669,000 tons and withof the North Berth of NIT. The project being Americas Most Modern Gateway. VirginiaInternationalGateway(VIG),AsiaNortheastfollowingcloselywithwill create capacity for an additional 1.4 TheVirginiaPort Authority(VPA)located in Portsmouth, Virginia and Rich- 3,062,000 tons.millionTEUswiththeinstallationof owns, and is responsible for the operationsmond Marine Terminal (RMT), located infournewelectricship-to-shorecranes, and security of, three marine terminals:Richmond, Virginia on the James River.Pov P rojecTs bringing the ports complement of ship-NorfolkInternationalTerminals(NIT),ThesefacilitieshandleawiderangeofManyofthePOVsimprovementsto-shorecranesto33,includingfour PortsmouthMarineTerminal(PMT),import and export cargoes including con- fall under the authoritys Gateway Invest- replacementcranesthatwentintoser-andNewportNewsMarineTerminaltainerized, breakbulk and ro/ro cargoes.mentProgram.The$1.48billionplanvice at VIG. NITs container stack yard (NNMT), and an inland intermodal facil- VirginiaInternationalTerminals,Inc.includes investments in such activities as(SOLIDcontinued on page 39)'