As the nation’s largest tonnage and one of the busiest ports, there has always been a need to make improvements and keep logistics efficient. Being open for business more than 100 years also comes with trouble spots along the way. However, Port Houston is focused on making infrastructure improvements before any serious problems come under fire. In particular, the area of freight mobility has grown tremendously over the years and this is largely due to the Port Houston teams that make these projects possible.

Meaning of Freight Mobility

What is Freight Mobility you ask? In short, freight mobility is a broad term that refers to cargo vehicles – trains, trucks or airplanes – traveling to different destinations around the world transporting various goods. Most organizations in the logistics or supply chain sector rely on the Port’s freight mobility group to monitor how efficiently cargo is moving and see where infrastructure improvements need to be made. Port Houston relies heavily on the freight mobility department to advocate for and facilitate the investment in the freight network around the Houston region.

Freight Mobility Projects at Port Houston

Everyone knows that large projects require a lot of teamwork, collaboration as well as time management and freight mobility is no exception. For the port, there are multiple cross-functioning departments — including Construction, Operations, Legal, Grants, Real Estate, and more — that contribute to make key enhancements around our terminals and drive growth. No projects can happen without our cross-functional teams at the port and the partnerships we build with outside entities. Some of closest partnerships have been with Harris County, the regions railroads, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and local Houston associations. Keeping these relationships open has allowed the port to get many freight mobility projects completed and in turn help the local communities.

In 2019, the port received a 50-50 grant shared with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the Port Terminal Railroad Association (PTRA) to help complete the port’s Broadway Double Track project. This project added a second railroad track near Turning Basin Terminal and Broadway street (inside Loop610), substantially completing double tracking of the PTRA which will improve cargo rail mobility to/from the port. This $23 million investment not only increased efficiency of freight movement but reduced emissions and improved safety.

In 2020 freight mobility improvements have continued across various areas of Port Houston. TxDOT has been a big contributor to the Port Road Expansion project and Barbours Cut Blvd/SH-146 Intersection project. More details about these specific projects can be found here: /road-widening-projects.

Additional developments are being made around Port Houston’s Jacintoport terminal, including the Peninsula Road Improvement project and Sheldon Road Expansion project. The Peninsula Road Improvement project has been mostly completed, with enhancements being made to roads and rail crossings improving overall cargo mobility, safety and air quality. Peninsula Road itself will by widened from 2 to 4 lanes allowing trucks to easily get in/out of Jacintoport. This was one of the most congested and dangerous areas within the port region and the $12+ million project, with80% funded by Rider 48 funds from the Texas Legislature, has made it one of the safest and most efficient regions of the port.

The Sheldon Road Expansion project also is vital to improved efficiency around Jacintoport terminal. The first phase of this project includes widening the road from 2 to 4 lanes for easier truck accessibility. The port was awarded $1.2 million with a 50-50 cost share with Rider 38 funds from TX Legislature and Harris County. Additional phases will include more improvements to Sheldon Road with around $18 million in further enhancements.

As Port Houston continues to grow, freight mobility will persist as a vitally important piece for enhancing efficiency with port roadways and railways. Port Houston teams are tireless working to keep up with the growth and maintain outstanding relationships with our stakeholders and communities.

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Port Road Construction And Bayport Terminal

The main entrance for Bayport Container Terminal lies off Port Road. One project we’re working on is expanding Port Road from 4 to 6 lanes between Highway 146 and the Bayport Container Terminal bridge. In addition to the road expansion, it will also improve necessary drainage facilities for Port Road along with drainage for the 95-acre tract of Port Houston-owned property.

The Port was awarded $9.675 million in grant funding through the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Texas Mobility Fund. This specific fund from TxDOT provides a method of financing for the construction, reconstruction, acquisition and expansion of Texas state highways and roads. The funds help pay for a portion of the larger project which will cost close to $18.9 million in total.

The first phase of the Bayport Container Terminal opened in 2007 and is now about 50% complete. When fully developed, it will have a total of 7 container berths with the capacity to handle 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The terminal will include 376 acres of container yard and a 123-acre intermodal facility. Adding an inbound and outbound lane to Port Road will make a tremendous difference in freight efficiency.

Barbours Cut Blvd Construction and BCT Terminal

Port Houston handles roughly 70 percent of the containers that move through the Gulf of Mexico and is the 6^th largest container port in the nation. Barbours Cut was our original container terminal which opened in 1977 and has seen some big improvements over the years as well.

Barbours Cut Terminal’s most recent project involves intersection improvements at Barbours Cut Blvd and SH-146. This is the main intersection in front of the terminal which sees a lot of transportation traffic each day. With this enhancement there will be 2 additional northbound right-turn lanes from Barbours Cut Blvd onto SH-146. Additionally, traffic signals will be improved to facilitate freight fluidity and air quality.

This is a minor project completely funded and reconstructed by the TxDOT approximately costing $500,000 dollars. It started in July 2020 and is projected to be finished later this month or early next month.

Barbours Cut features 6 container berths, 6,000 feet of continuous dock space, 230 acres of paved marshaling area, and 255,000 square feet of warehouse space. Additionally, there’s a roll-on/roll-off platform, a LASH dock, and an Intermodal rail service with dock-to-rail connection servicing. Today the terminal is undergoing a modernization program to increase cargo handling efficiency and capacity from 1.2 million TEUs to 2 million TEUs when completed.

The amount of cargo coming through Port Houston’s container terminals has continued to increase steadily over the years, and there are no signs of slowing down.

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Port Houston’s Bayport Berm Project was awarded for “Robust Community Involvement” at the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (HGAC) Water Innovation Strategies of Excellence Awards.

The WISE Awards recognize innovative strategies and projects in the Houston-Galveston region that serve as models for improving water quality. The winning projects must exhibit efficiency, effectiveness and innovation.

“We are honored to be recognized for this achievement,” said Trae Camble, director of environmental affairs for Port Houston. “We had a number of volunteers participate in the community with us on this project, and our commitment to environmental leadership is an important part of our organizational best practices.”

The Bayport Berm Project supported the development of the new vegetation sight-and-sound berm near the Bayport Container Terminal. The new Seabrook sight and sound berm is a culmination of years of careful planning and industry partnerships. This vegetated berm will provide enhanced mitigation of sound near the Bayport Container Terminal for both the El Jardin and Seabrook communities, while also beautifying the area.

The Port Houston Trees program with Houston Wilderness, a community tree planting project, was also recognized during the ceremony.

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More than 150 local small business representatives attended Port Houston’s Small Business Capital Improvement Projects and Subcontracting Opportunities Forum in 2019. Our small business development program was created in 2002 to provide opportunities for local small businesses to participate in contracting and procurement at the port.

Key goals of the program are economic development, sustainability and growth of small businesses and industry-focused workshops and events. Our small business participation rate is 39 percent since program inception with more than a half billion dollars awarded to local small businesses. Currently, there are more than 1,100 firms enrolled in the Small Business Development Program.

At the 2019 Forum, Ross Talbot, project and construction manager for Port Houston, provided an overview of upcoming construction and design projects. The workshop focused on infrastructure projects that further drive port operations. These infrastructure projects expand our facilities, so we can accommodate growth in cargo volume.

“This forum is designed to provide information to subcontractors who need the connections, knowledge and networking to get ahead and grow their business,” said Gilda Ramirez, senior director of small business education and outreach for Port Houston.

The post Small Businesses Benefit Through Port Capital Projects Forum appeared first on Port Houston.

Port Houston welcomed more than 200 small business representatives at the Construction and Design Capital Improvement Projects Forum May 8.

The quarterly event was designed for the port to share upcoming projects to contractors and subcontractors for potential bid opportunities.

Senior Director of Small Business and Education Outreach Gilda Ramirez shared informative facts about the port and the small business development program.

Director of Construction and Project Management Roger H. Hoh, P.E., highlighted future work at the port’s Turning Basin terminal and other breakbulk and container facilities.

Port Houston’s project management, small business, finance and procurement staff were also on site to help answer questions about the port’s procurement process.

“The port was built on innovation and partnership. We plan, build and design for the future, and important members of the “team” to accomplish this is our small business partners,” said Hoh.

The event was held at the Amegy Bank Tower.

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