New Charleston cruise terminal planned

New Charleston cruise terminal planned    The South Carolina State Ports Authority has awarded a contract to design a passenger terminal at Union Pier.
   The port authority recently relocated the BMW and other rolling stock business from Union Pier to an improved Columbus Street Terminal.
   The agency’s board awarded a $2.4 million design contract to a team led by CH2M Hill, along with local partners LS3P Associates, Collins Engineers, DesignWorks and Thomas & Hutton. The port expects renovation to begin this year, and the new terminal to open by the third quarter of 2012.
   An existing building at the north end of the Union Pier property will be made into a cruise terminal, replacing a 40-year old facility farther south on the Union Pier site.
   The new terminal is part of a plan that will move all cargo operations off Union Pier, reducing cargo-related traffic, eliminating trains, and opening up more than 35 acres to public and private uses, improving public access to Charleston's waterfront.