Beaumont Dedicates Deepwater Wharf

The Port of Beaumont, Texas on Monday dedicated a new $20 million 650-foot-long wharf on the north bank of the Neches River. During the ceremony, elected officials, port officials and business leaders watched the multi-purpose vessel BBC Colorado discharge breakbulk steel billets from Brazil for the nearby Gerdau Ameristeel plant.

The wharf is the port’s first facility on the Orange County side of the Neches River, where the port owns approximately 455 acres. The port’s main footprint, including terminals and offices, lies across from the new wharf on the Jefferson County side of the Neches. Three railroads, BNSF, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific, provide rail service to the Orange County property as well as to the rest of the port.

The wharf was designed by Lanier and Associated Consulting Engineers and built by Orion Construction. Along with hardened acreage nearby, it will be used to handle and store breakbulk and project cargoes, such as wind energy equipment, that do not need protection from the elements.

A total of $60 million in capital improvement projects, including the wharf, are under way or have been recently completed at the Port of Beaumont. Other projects planned for the Orange County site include construction of open cargo storage lots and road and rail infrastructure. The port has received $4 million in funding from the Economic Development Administration towards a $5.5 million project to link the port’s property to existing railroads. Another $4 million will be spent to construct an access road connecting the new wharf to Interstate 10. Construction of the new wharf was financed with port revenue and revenue bonds.

Contact Janet Nodar at jcnodar@bellsouth.net.