New Era for Barbours Cut

Four new Super Post-Panamax wharf cranes that are part of a significant upgrade of the Barbours Cut Container Terminal arrived yesterday at the Port of Houston.

The cranes, largest ever built by Konecranes, come as a part of the Port Authority overall plan to undertake significant infrastructure improvements, including dredging of the PHA’s Bayport and Barbours Cut channels.

These capital improvement projects will ensure that the Port of Houston can accommodate the advent of larger vessels and increased cargo resulting from the pending Panama Canal expansion in 2016.

Considered as a single project, the dredging of the two channels will cost around $130-150 million and, once completed, will widen and deepen the two critical waterways to allow for larger vessels to call on.

Located on the northern tip of Galveston Bay, Barbours Cut is a 1.3-mile, 300-foot wide, 40-foot deep channel constructed in the 1970s. Thanks to the dredging, the depth of the Barbours Cut berthing area will be increased to 45 feet and shifted 75 feet to the north.

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