The South Florida port will initiate a two-part expansion project to build five more berths and extend gantry crane infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels.
Port Everglades in Broward County, Fla., has announced the approval of a two-part, $437.5 million expansion project dubbed the “Southport Turning Notch Expansion” (STNE).
The expansion includes the addition of new berths for larger cargo ships and the installation of crane rail infrastructure for new super post-Panamax cranes.
Currently, the South Florida port is limited in terms of the size of containership it can handle by berth size and dock space. But the STNE project will lengthen the existing deepwater turn-around area for cargo ships from 900 feet to 2,400 feet, allowing room for five new cargo berths that will be able handle the larger vessels expected to call the U.S. East Coast with increasing frequency in the coming months. The current gantry crane rails will also be extended to full length once the berth construction is complete, said the port.
A separate agreement to purchase three new super post-Panamax container gantry cranes for delivery in 2019, and an option to purchase two or three additional cranes, will be presented to the Broward County Commission in June, said the port.
“The Southport Turning Notch Extension was identified as a critical project in our 2006 Master/Vision Plan,” said port Port Director and Chief Executive Steven Cernak. “We will now be able to meet the demands of our current customers and work with them to grow their businesses, in addition to providing the infrastructure necessary to attract new customers.”
The expansion project is the most expensive capital improvement agreement awarded to the port. A joint venture of Moss & Associates and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., operating as Moss/Kiewit, has been named the managing general contractor for the project.
According to the port, the Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County, Fla., government with operating revenues of more than $163 million in fiscal year 2016, and does not rely on local tax dollars for operations.
Port Everglades gets approval for $437.5m expansion
