Page 8 - Port of Baltimore - December 2021

PORT MESSAGES
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE
Howard Street Tunnel Project a Game Changer for Baltimore
In November, I was pleased to join CSX CEO Jim Foote, Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Amit Bose, and Maryland congressional and state legislative leaders to participate in a groundbreaking for the Howard Street Tunnel Expansion Project.
This critical project, which will reconstruct Baltimore’s 126-year-old freight tunnel to allow it to handle double-stacked container trains to and from the Port, has been a priority of our administration since taking office. The reconstructed tunnel will increase the Port’s business by approximately 160,000 contain- ers annually and generate more than 14,000 total jobs in the Baltimore region. The expanded Howard Street Tunnel will sig- nificantly increase rail cargo capacity, improving the efficiency of our supply chain and assisting in our efforts to ease congestion along the I-95 corridor. Double-stacking the Howard Street Tunnel will also provide the East Coast with seamless double- stack capacity on CSX’s rail network from Maine to Florida.
EXECUTIVE VIEW
This project, a joint effort between the State of Maryland, the Federal Railroad Administration and CSX,
is a shining example of how effective public-private partnerships can improve and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure. Complemented with improvements at the Seagirt Marine Terminal, which recently welcomed four additional supersized container cranes, goods will move more freely across our region, getting onto shelves and into homes and businesses — ensuring we have what we need, when we need it.
These are exciting times for the Port of Baltimore and its dedicated workforce. We look forward to the increased cargo capacity and supply chain efficiency these projects will bring, and we remain committed to maintaining the Port of Baltimore’s standing as one of the top ports in the nation.
Larry Hogan, Governor
Port Had an Amazing 2021, With More to Come in 2022
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and was able to spend some quality time with family or friends.
What an amazing year 2021 was for the Port of Baltimore. We welcomed two new container services on MSC and Maersk and four new ultra-large, Neo-Panamax cranes at Seagirt Marine Terminal with our partners at Ports America Chesapeake. Working alongside our good friends at the Army Corps of Engineers, we embarked on the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island project, which will be MDOT MPA’s newest coastal restoration initiative. We were also very honored last year to welcome the Chief of Engineers and Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General Scott Spellmon to Poplar Island! It was the first time a person of that title ever visited the internationally recognized island, which has been rebuilt by dredged sediment after years of erosion.
We also broke ground on the much-anticipated CSX Howard Street Tunnel Expansion Project, which will give the Port of Baltimore double-stack rail capabilities. The lack of double-stack rail has been a decades-long hurdle for the Port. This game-changing project will create approximately 14,000 jobs and increase our business by some 160,000 containers annually. We were so happy to have CSX CEO Jim Foote and Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Amit Bose join us for this exciting event.
The Port of Baltimore was also extremely honored to
welcome President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during separate visits. Both esteemed gentlemen chose the Port of Baltimore to talk about infrastructure and the ongoing supply chain crisis that is severely impacting our industry... but not the Port of Baltimore! We continue to be congestion-free here. In addition, we are welcoming ships being diverted from congested ports that are unable to accommodate them.
Though we hoped that COVID-19 would be mostly behind us by now, the omicron variant has put the pandemic back on the front burner. I want to again strongly encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated and get your booster
shots as well. Wear masks and do your part to keep others safe and healthy. The vaccines have proven to be very effective against the coronavirus, but each of us also bears a responsibility to continue to monitor and follow the latest CDC recommendations and guidelines.
We could not have had the year we did without the incredible support of Gov. Larry Hogan and then-MDOT Secretary Greg Slater. Gov. Hogan visited the Port of Baltimore three separate times in 2021. We have a lot of exciting things planned for 2022 and I’m looking forward to working very closely with our great team at MDOT MPA and our incredible supply chain partners to make those things happen.
[6] The Port of Baltimore ■ December 2021
William P. Doyle, Executive Director