2 0 2 0 I N T R A N S P O R TAT I O N
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Donna Girardot, chair of the New Hanover County Airport Authority, and Julie Wilsey, airport director, stand in the airport’s expanded ticket lobby – part of ILM’s current terminal expansion project.
“ S tate of the Port” – July 2000
“Too shallow.” For the purpose of attracting larger ships and more business to the Port of Wilmington, and prompting fears over losing the business it had, those words described the Cape Fear River channel at the port 20 years ago. At the time, the port got an infusion of more than $330 million for a project to deepen the channel from 38 feet to 42 feet. Customers back then said the 4 feet would make a big difference because they were having to rely on the tides to get ships in and out. Port officials predicted that the deepening would propel the Port of Wilmington to more truck-size containers and more pallets of wood on ships headed out, meaning more revenue. These days, N.C. Ports officials are still looking at opportunities to increase business and compete with other ports on the East Coast, including deepening the Wilmington Harbor again, this time from 42 to 47 feet. The N.C. Ports has the Port of Wilmington, the Port of Morehead City and an inland terminal in Charlotte. Major recent projects involve $221 million in capital improvements, including a turning basin and container terminal expansion in Wilmington. The main point of the changes, said N.C. Ports Executive Director Paul Cozza in a 2019 WilmingtonBiz Magazine story, is to keep improving the ports’ economic contribution numbers, which amounted to more than $15 billion, according to a 2018 economic report.
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
continuing well into the future as we increase our capabilities, which will support the Port of Wilmington’s growth as an important gateway for our region, North Carolina and the entire Southeast,” Cozza said. Future capital improvements are underway, including a new gate complex and an upgrade to the ports’ terminal operating system. N.C. Ports is also proposing its Wilmington Harbor enhancement project, which would deepen the harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet to make way for bigger, heavier container ships up the river to the Port of Wilmington. The authority, however, is awaiting federal approvals for the project. Port officials have also said future plans will focus on making improvements to general cargo facilities.
TERMINAL TAKES OFF WHAT’S HAPPENING: More travelers have passed through Wilmington International Airport (ILM) over the years, with a historic milestone reached last year of more than 1 million passengers. The increase in passengers, on top of adding new nonstop flights and a third commercial carrier to the airport last year, has put a strain on the airport building during peak times. “Pre-COVID-19 our ramp, our gate and even TSA checkpoints were nearing capacity,” said Donna Girardot, chair of the New Hanover County Airport Authority. Airport officials said they are hopeful that numbers will return to normal postpandemic. To accommodate future growth, ILM is