Manatee port approves new master plan concepts

Manatee port approves new master plan concepts The Manatee County Port Authority accepted new master plan concepts based on 17 months of work by a group of consultants.
   The concepts include four alternatives with a maximum build out by 2038 and a projected cost of about $500 million. “Funding for the master plan alternatives was not considered during the (Feb. 21) presentation, but it is expected to come from a combination of port revenues, state grants and public private partnerships,” the port authority said in a statement.
   The master plan focuses on the northern harbor, Berths 1, 2 and 3, and its potential for containerization. Other significant factors driving the plan are the proposed Port Manatee Encouragement Zone in 2008, completion in 2011 of the Interstate 75 Connector Road PD&E study, completion of the CSX Intermodal hub near Winter Haven, Fla. in 2012, and the conclusion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014.
   The consultants involved in the Port Manatee master plan concepts team include PBS& J, R.K. Johns & Associates, J.D. Sanchez Consulting, and Wilbur Smith Associates.