Port is adding roads, rails as $20M project launches
Should double capacity to process train freight
RIVIERA BEACH – A $20 millionplus improvement project is underway at the Port of Palm Beach that is expected to allow the port to more than double the amount of rail freight it can process.
Port commissioners, area legislators and Palm Beach County commissioners attended a recent ceremonial groundbreaking. Among the speakers were Port Executive Director Michael Meekins, Board Chair Jean Enright and Branden Villalona, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration director for the South Atlantic Gateway Region.
Enright said the work represents a significant step toward “a more efficient, eco-friendly and job-stimulating future for the port.” The project is expected to create more than 100 direct jobs during construction. Key features include:
• A redesign of the main gate off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Riviera Beach, with additional lanes being added inside for trucks to enter and exit more efficiently. The large trucks will be aided by an automated technology system, cutting processing time by 50%. The result will be less emissions.
• Three new rail tracks and the replacement of two existing tracks. The move is expected to increase freight capacity to nearly 100,000 TEUs per year from 44,000. A TEU is a unit of cargo. It stands for a “20-foot equivalent unit,” or a 20-foot-long metal box that can be transferred between ships, trains, and trucks. And those new rail tracks mean more storage for rail cars within the port.
• A new road that will carry non-containerized cargo along the Port’s western boundary.
“Each project element serves on a small scale to enhance connectivity among three modes of transportation — waterborne, intermodal freight rail and trucks,” Meekins said.
Florida East Coast railroad trains coming from North Florida can be as long as a mile, causing issues along roadways near the Port of Palm Beach
once the trains stop to unload cargo. The mile-long trains split the city in two.
The project will allow cargo to be unloaded much quicker, resulting in the trains spending less time Rivieria Beach.
Options also under consideration include a temporary parking area for those without the necessary credentials to enter the port. The port is also looking to add security fencing and lighting. Meekins said it is unclear if there will be enough money to pay for those options.
Work is expected to begin by July 1, and the project is expected to be completed within 18 months. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Administration awarded the Port of Palm Beach a $13.2 million infrastructure grant to support the project.
Villalona said the much-needed project will reduce railway congestion, enhance transportation infrastructure and improve road safety. She noted that the Port of Palm Beach was the only port in Florida to receive an infrastructure grant.
The port exports about 80% of its cargo. Most exports are shipped to the
Bahamas. In fiscal year 2022, the port registered a 3.8% annual growth in containerized cargo. It processes more than $14 billion in commodities, 2.5 million tons of cargo and 400,000 cruise passengers annually. The port and its tenants employ more than 3,800 people.
The port’s master plan expects cargo tonnage to reach 4.5 million a year by 2042, a 69% increase over the current figure. But for that to happen, the master plan says the port must add distribution warehouses and improve its rail network.
The port has been steadily adding improvements to attract more tenants and business. Since 2000, it added the $30 million “Skypass” bridge, a $15 million cruise terminal and a $15 million maritime office complex. It also opened a South Gate Entrance, along with a 40,000-square-foot warehouse and a 4-acre cargo transfer terminal.
“Each project element serves on a small scale to enhance connectivity among three modes of transportation — waterborne, intermodal freight rail and trucks.”
Michael Meekins Port of Palm Beach executive director