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The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) agreed in early December to accelerate a $150 million expansion at the Port of Savannah in response to a surge in cargo volumes that has cramped its container yard and kept ships waiting at sea, the AP reported. The state agency’s governing board approved a plan to increase by 25 percent Savannah’s capacity for cargo containers by June 2022. The new space for storing containers waiting to be loaded
onto ships, trucks or trains will cover approximately 150 acres, according to Griff Lynch, the GPA’s executive director. He said more than a third of that new capacity should be ready in January, and Savannah’s port will be capable of handling 1.6 million additional cargo containers per year. “It was in our long-range plan, but we’re expediting it,” Lynch explained. “None of this was planned for this year or next year.” Also at its December meeting, the GPA Board approved
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the $24.4 million purchase of nine electric-powered rubbertired gantry cranes that will help support the expansion. “Through ingenuity and teamwork, GPA has put into place what amounts to the largest current expansion for a port operation in North America,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. “It’s a testament to the leadership and forward thinking at America’s most efficient gateway for containerized trade.” see PORT page 6
GDOT Releases Details of Atlanta Bridge Replacement Projects New details about a construction project on Georgia State Road 400, north of Atlanta, were recently released by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). Three bridges on Pitts Road, Roberts Drive and Kimball Road will be replaced to accommodate the future SR 400 lanes. Phase 1 of the design-build project has been advanced from the SR 400 Express Lanes project, according to information listed on the GDOT website. Early construction is set to begin in 2023 and be completed in late 2024. The state agency noted, however, that the schedule is subject to change.
Here is a closer look at the construction highlights for each part of the project: • Pitts Road Bridge will be replaced and widened to allow for a 12-ft. multiuse path on the structure’s south side, a sidewalk on the north side, and interior barrier walls on both sides — separating pedestrians from the two travel lanes. GDOT said this project is being built under a local agreement with the city of Sandy Springs. • Roberts Drive Bridge also will be replaced and widened. Like Pitts Road Bridge, it will allow for a 12-ft. multiuse path on the south side, a sidewalk on the north side,
and interior barrier walls. GDOT is building it in conjunction with the city of Sandy Springs. • In Alpharetta, a replacement of the Kimball Road Bridge is set to take place, along with a roadway widening from two to four lanes with a median. Here, too, a multiuse path on the north side, and a sidewalk on the south side, will be installed. GDOT added there have been approved detours for Pitts Road Bridge and Kimball Bridge Road. Staged construction is anticipated for Roberts Drive Bridge, and no detours are currently planned at the site. The bridge work in Sandy Springs and
Alpharetta is still in the initial stages of procurement for the design contractor, GDOT noted. It added that the project has been environmentally cleared under the SR 400 Express Lane project. Noise barriers also are being evaluated for the bridge replacements in accordance with GDOT’s noise policy and the Federal Highway Administration noise regulations. South Atlanta Residents Irked at New Bridge Delay In the community of South Atlanta, resisee BRIDGE page 6
Page 2 • December 29, 2021 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 29, 2021 • Page 3
Page 4 • December 29, 2021 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Joey Martin Auctioneers Holds Its Final Sale of 2021 in Carrollton, Ga.
W
inding down its 2021 auctioning schedule, Joey Martin Auctioneers held its last sale of the year at its Carrollton, Ga., sale site on Dec. 15. Another “barn burner” of attendance combined with a massive online presence vying for a nice line-up of machines, trucks, trailTest operating one of the paving machines in the sale, ers, support equipment and much more made for a very suca LeeBoy model paver, are Robbie Franklin (L) of cessful year end sale. Joey Martin Auctioneers kicks off its 2022 auction year in Triple R Metals Recycling, Odenville, Ala., and Allan Carroll, Ohio, on Jan. 13, 2022. CEG Tunnell of Tunnell Services, based in Moody, Ala. (All photographs in this article are Copyright 2021 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)
Doing a comprehensive test operation of a Komatsu D51PXi dozer of interest is Jason Ingram of PR Inc., based in Acworth, Ga.
Looking over some of the attachments available, including this FAE skid steer mulching head attachment, are Justin Crawford (L) and Michael Coggins of B&B Specialized Hauling, Buchanan, Ga.
Reading some notes and thinking about his machine preferences is Elmer Zamora of R&E Truck Sales, Temple, Ga.
This crowd came early — and stayed late — for a tremendous line-up of miscellaneous items, machines, trucks, trailers and much more.
Discussing the sale lineup before the auctioning begins (L-R) are Mike Clower of Joey Martin Auctioneers; Jason Lambert, Lambert Equipment, Samson, Ala.; and Tom Powell, Lowbird Outdoors, Atlanta, Ga.
(L-R): Mo Safawi, SMG Trading, Newnan, Ga; Ibrahim Saleh, S&Z Import & Export, Dallas, Ga; and Victor Bautista, of Joey Martin Auctioneers, enjoy the auction life.
Local contractors Zack Stevens (L) and Blake Thomas of Thomas Land Management, Bremen, Ga., are out looking over some of the dozers about to go on the auction block.
Bidders circle around a new Delta trailer that was being auctioned off for tornado relief in Kentucky. All the proceeds and buyer’s premium will go directly to a church in Kentucky for its work to aid those in need.
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 29, 2021 • Page 5
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Expansion Will Ease Cargo Backlog at Fourth Busiest Port PORT from page 1
Container Ships Stuck in Congestion Offshore Like other U.S. seaports, the Port of Savannah has scrambled to work through traffic jams caused by record volumes of shipping containers piling up as the economy rebounds from the pandemic. Savannah is home to the nation’s fourthbusiest port for cargo shipped in containers. The giant metal boxes are used to transport a wide range of goods from consumer electronics to frozen chickens. The AP noted the swell in cargo caused Savannah’s port to see its busiest month ever in October, when the number of container units of imports and exports crossing its docks exceeded 500,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, or TEUs, for the first time. The port handled a record 5.3 million container units in the 2021 fiscal year that ended June 30. “Moving more than half a million TEUs across our docks in one month is the result of new capacity already coming online and the incredible teamwork of GPA employees, the International Longshoremen’s Association and port customers.” Lynch told the GPA board. GPA Building More ‘Pop-Up’ Container Facilities Off-terminal, the port authority is growing by another half-million TEUs in annual capacity by expanding its inland port strategy to include flexible “pop-up” container yards near manufacturing and distribution centers.
Five new rubber-tired gantry cranes arrive at the Port of Savannah on Dec. 3, 2021. The Georgia Ports Authority Board approved on Dec. 6 the purchase of nine additional RTGs, for a total of 29 to be delivered.
GPA has activated the yards in partnership with its two Class I rail providers, CSX and Norfolk Southern, as well as regional property owners. Four locations in Atlanta, Savannah, Statesboro and Murray County, the latter in northwest Georgia, are currently in operation, bringing cargo closer to customers and increasing capacity by reducing unnecessary container storage time at the Savannah port’s Garden City Terminal. The new facilities also will reduce truck traffic; the Atlanta
yard, for example, will avoid more than 500 roundtrip truck miles per box, with anticipated volumes of 1,200 containers a month. Lynch said with the new capacity arriving and customers clearing cargo more quickly, the Port of Savannah has already seen a dramatic drop in the length of time containers are on terminal. He noted that the number of import containers on port for more than four weeks has dropped by 53 percent compared to September. “Through ingenuity and teamwork, GPA has put into place what amounts to the largest current expansion for a port operation in North America,” said Kemp. “It’s a testament to the leadership and forward thinking at America’s most efficient gateway for containerized trade.” GPA’s efforts to reduce the cargo backlog have already seen results. The Port of Savannah had about 67,000 containers at its terminal Dec. 6, Lynch said, compared to roughly 85,000 in September. And the 13 ships anchored off the coast waiting to enter the port was about half the peak number months ago. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” he reported, before cautiously adding, “We think this will continue up through the first quarter of 2022 at least.” Georgia’s two deep-water ports, in Savannah and Brunswick, as well as its inland barge terminals, support more than 496,700 jobs throughout the state annually, contribute $29 billion in income, $122 billion in revenue and $3.4 billion in state and local taxes to its economy.
South Atlanta Bridge Project Now Due to Complete Fall 2022 BRIDGE from page 1
dents there are frustrated over how long it is taking to build a new McDonough Boulevard bridge through their historic neighborhood, according to a report from WXIA 11Alive News in Atlanta. GDOT initially said construction on the new bridge would be completed by early 2022. However, the transportation department explained that it had to push back the project timeframe to relocate public and private services and utilities, along with railroad use in the area. The agency is now planning to finish the bridge by the fall of next year. Construction on the structure has been ongoing since February 2020. As a result, traffic is still a major concern for people living in the neighborhood, with the bridge on McDonough Boulevard forming one of the biggest roadblocks. Many residents feel left out, overlooked, and cut off, WXIA-TV said in its report. People living in the South Atlanta community said they have waited nearly two years for a new bridge, while experiencing dangerous and time-consuming detours. Despite the delays, modern apartments, homes and shops are sprouting up around a set of Norfolk Southern railroad tracks within the older neighborhood, Devon Dixon, co-president of the South Atlanta Civic League, told 11Alive News.
“It’s a pretty diverse area, [and] tends to be a little lower economically, but it’s changing very quickly. It’s [also] a tight-knit community. Historically, though, this neighborhood has been divided [by I-85] and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.” Kimberlee Jones, a South Atlanta resident, added that hers is “a great neighborhood because you’re close to everything, but there are some challenges to living in an area that’s been historically underserved and underdeveloped. Along with not having many stores, banks and grocery stores, there’s not basic traffic support. There are so many thoroughfares, but they basically go unpatrolled, unchecked. So, you have a lot of speeding, traffic and a lot of accidents.” GDOT’s bridge project, though, is looking to improve that support by also realigning the
intersections that have become dangerous for drivers as they try and get around the construction. Those interchanges include McDonough Boulevard, Lakewood Avenue and Milton Avenue. According to Dixon, construction delays have forced drivers to go 15 to 20 minutes out of their way, and pedestrians could spend upwards of 45 minutes trying to walk around the bridge work. “With the bridge, it significantly reduces transportation time if there’s a train on the track,” Dixon told 11Alive News. “The bridge will go over it, so it’s no longer an impact. Without it, we’re stuck. People are essentially making blind U-turns, and illegal U-turns into oncoming traffic at times just to get in and out of the neighborhood.” The construction also has put a dent in local
businesses. Fekadu Alemu owns Lakewood Food Mart, one of the few stores near the McDonough Boulevard bridge. He said the access to I-20 and the Downtown I-75/85 Connector offers an attractive option for residents to move to the area. However, the length of time it has taken to build the bridge has caused him to pay rent out of pocket simply to remain in business. “I just stay here for future hope, for survival. I’m not making money,” Alemu said to the Atlanta TV station. “There’s no way to get here. All these neighborhoods behind the bridge, they’re left out.” Once completed, the new concrete bridge is expected to be about 170-ft. long and 54-ft. wide. GDOT said the new bridge would be sturdier and wider to be able to accommodate an increase in truck traffic. There also will be ADA-compliant sidewalks. South Atlanta residents said they are hopeful of seeing new business and a return to normalcy. For now, being allowed to use the bridge in a limited way could help. “We would really like some sort of a pedestrian option as bridge construction progresses, to at least allow pedestrians and bikes to get across the bridge,” Dixon explained. “That would be not ideal, but [it would be] a better solution for us, [rather than having to] walk around.”
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 29, 2021 • Page 7
4240 MLK JR Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30336 770-819-6600
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