Published Nationally ®
Southeast Edition
December 6 2017
$3.00
Vol. XXX • No. 25
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
Port Expansion to Attract Bigger Cargo Ships Backus Aerial Photography photo
The Port of Virginia is making a bold statement to nearly double the size of its already massive marine container facility in Portsmouth.
Puerto Rico Continues to Recover…8
Barge-Mounted Crane Increases Efficiency…24
By Eric Olson
Several major shipping ports and cargo terminals are located on America’s East, West and Gulf coasts — and all are locked in a competition to attract more business. The companies with which they want to do more business are those carriers that ship products to and from the United States by means of giant cargo ships. At the same time, ports and terminals also are looking to increase revenue by modernizing the rail and truck facilities they use to keep that cargo moving on land. With that in mind, the Port of Virginia is making a bold statement to nearly double the size of its already massive marine container facility in Portsmouth. The Virginia International Gateway (VIG) is located on 576 acres along the Elizabeth River and is the largest privately-owned container terminal CEG CORRESPONDENT
Deanco Auction Company Hosts Sale…96
Table of Contents ....................4 Attachment & Parts Section...... ..........................................41-45 Truck & Trailer Section ....47-50 Recycling Section ............55-69 Auction Section ..............94-101 Business Calendar..................95 Advertisers Index ................102
in the country. It also is one of the only functional automated terminals in the Western Hemisphere. Work began last February on a $320 million expansion that will be done in four separate projects. Completion of the construction should be in early 2019. The goal of the work is to increase the container capacity by 40 percent, or by 1 million container units. When finished, the new effort, combined with a similar project in Norfolk, should attract more ships and carriers to the Port of Virginia like bees to a hive. “This is an important milestone in our effort to increase sustainability and to prepare this port for what is to come,” said John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA), in a press release. “We are adding capacity so we can handle the cargo that will be coming see PORT page 72
Miss. Starts Work on $150M Highway Widening RICHLAND, Miss. (AP) Mississippi officials have started on a $150 million project to rebuild and widen a congested suburban highway. The Mississippi Department of Transportation will expand an 8-mi. section of U.S. 49 in Richland and Florence from four lanes to six lanes. Utilities have already been
moving power poles, but construction started this week on removing old curbs and gutters and widening shoulders to maintain four lanes of traffic during construction. After that, contractors will install new culverts and improve intersections. Finally, the existing pavement will be rebuilt. Department of Transportation Executive
Director Melinda McGrath said lane closures will be timed to take place overnight and avoid holidays. The project is expected to conclude within three years. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s website at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)