By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

RESERVE – To the average person riding by on River Road in months to come, the large storage building at the corner of West 10th Street and River Road won’t mean much.

But to those who continue to work at making the Port of South Louisiana grow, the building symbolizes much more.

The Port of South Louisiana broke ground on a 40,000 square foot bulk transit storage facility at its Globalplex Intermodal Terminal in Reserve this past week, proving what may look like a simple building to some. But in actuality, the huge building will assist the Port’s customers, including its stevedoring partner, Associated Terminals, with handling and storing dry bulk commodities being shipped in and out of the 54-mile port district.  

“This building took a lot of thinking to realize, on the part of many entities involved,” Associated Terminals President David Fennelly said. “What it means is the continuation of the long range plan for the port to bring business and jobs here. It’s important to the future of the port.”

The 200 foot by 200 foot bulk facility is being strategically placed at the southeast corner of the industrial park adjacent to the general cargo dock access bridge.   

“The Port of South Louisiana planned this facility based on the needs of its customers,” said Joel Chaisson, executive director of the port.  “It is being built on this site to make it quick and easy for shipments to move to and from our dock for storage in the building,” he added.   

Chaisson said that the building is being placed on a large enough piece of ground that it can triple in size in the future, as needs continue to grow.

Allowance has been made in the design of the structure for installation of future conveyors connecting it to the river dock and to nearby railroad tracks.

The facility was planned and designed by URS Corporation in close cooperation with the Port and its stevedoring partner, Associated Terminals.   Davezac Engineering will be the Port’s project representative for independent inspection and quality control.  Project construction was awarded to Harris Builders, LLC in a public bid process.  URS will also oversee the construction, which is scheduled to commence once the Mississippi River drops to a safe level and be completed by June 2009.

The total cost of the project is $6 million. Funding includes $4.8 million from the State of Louisiana’s Port Construction and Development Priority Program; $1 million from the Port; and Associated Terminals will provide $460,000 in “in-kind” equipment purchases.

It is anticipated that the project will create over 30 temporary construction jobs and five permanent jobs with an annual payroll of over $200,000.

The Port of South Louisiana, a 54-mile port district on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge encompassing St. Charles, St. John and St. James parishes, is the largest tonnage port in the Western Hemisphere.

 and accounts for over 50 percent of all Louisiana imports/exports.