Page 23 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 5 - 2024

enhancing service efficiency and safely expanding our network
capabilities through the Howard Street Tunnel project, allowing for
greater efficiency in this critical corridor.”
Federal Grant to Support Berth 11 Upgrades
While construction is still ongoing at several Maryland sites,
vertical clearance improvements at rail bridges north of Baltimore
are complete, providing CSX the opportunity to operate double-
stack rail service on a temporary northern route from the Port
along the CSX network in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York
and onto the Midwest until the work is complete in 2026.
The Howard Street Tunnel Project includes reconstructing
the 129-year-old tunnel in Baltimore and 21 other locations
in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania to increase vertical
clearance by 18 inches to allow double-stacked container
trains to and from the Port of Baltimore. When fully complete,
the double-stack project will provide the East Coast with
seamless capacity from Maine to Florida.
“The launch of double-stack rail operations at the Port of
Baltimore is a significant milestone for the Baltimore region
and the State of Maryland, and one that couldn’t have been
achieved without the partnership and cooperation of our
Port customers, CSX and local officials,” said Wiedefeld.
“The completion of the Howard Street Tunnel Project will
fundamentally change rail service throughout the Eastern
seaboard, greatly improving the efficiency and capacity at the
Port of Baltimore and with it, opening numerous new markets
for the Port’s growth.”
The addition of double-stack capabilities “allows us to
take our container business to another level and puts us on a
more level playing field with our competitors,” said Daniels.
“Working together with Ports America Chesapeake, CSX and
our longshore labor team, we are very optimistic and excited
about the growth of container handling in Baltimore.”
As for Ports America, double stacking will further
complement the company’s efforts to increase capacity
at the Port, said President Mark Schmidt. “Ports America
Chesapeake is making strategic investments — including new
equipment and infrastructure at the Seagirt Marine Terminal —
that, coupled with double stacking, will boost volumes and
position the Port for future success.”
The Port of Baltimore has also seen other measured
improvements to its container business during its recovery
period. Baltimore is now processing nearly 3,500 trucks a day,
up from 3,300 in September, nearly back to the same levels a
year ago. During the week of November 4 through November 8,
the Seagirt container terminal handled more than 17,400 vessel
lifts, the highest amount in one week in 2024.
BY TINA IRGANG LEADERMAN
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Port
of Baltimore a $31 million grant to fund reconstruction work at
Dundalk Marine Terminal’s Berth 11.
The investment is part of a larger $38.4 million package
that also includes funding for the Curtis Creek Drawbridge.
The funding was allocated through the Biden administration’s
Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program.
With 13 berths, four container cranes and direct rail
access, the 470-acre Dundalk terminal is the largest and
most versatile general cargo facility
ility
y
at the Port of Baltimore.
“This grant will enable the
MPA to reconstruct nearly 600
linear feet of Berth 11,” said
Jeffrey Neumayer, Deputy
Director for Design in the
Engineering Division of the
Maryland Port Administration
$31
MILLION
GRANT
TO FUND BERTH 11
RECONSTRUCTION
(MPA). “The scope of work
includes demolition of the existing
g
ng
ings,
berth and construction of new pilings,
substructure, wharf decking, stormwater drainage and tidal
gates, utilities, mooring bollards and cleats, and a sea curb.”
Construction on Berth 11 is scheduled to begin in July 2026
and to be completed in April of 2029. In addition to Berth 11,
subsequent phases of the reconstruction project at Dundalk
will include replacement of the remainder of Berth 11, select
sections of Berth 12, and all of Berth 13.
Down the line, the MPA will also look to reconstruct
Berths 1 and 2. Berths 3 through 6 have already been
completely reconstructed within the past 20 years.
Neumayer noted that the MPA has a robust inspection
program for their waterfront structures so that deficiencies
can be identified and then repaired under the MPA’s current
agency-wide waterfront structures repair contract.
“The goal is to keep our berths in a state of good repair
so we can meet our mission of increasing waterborne
commerce while providing economic benefits to the
state’s citizens,” he said.
DMT BERTH 11 REPLACEMENT AREA PLAN
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