Cement being poured for the first of eight caissons as part of the West Side Modernization Project in July 2020. (File photo/Tamara Steele)
Work continues on the massive modernization project on the west side of Port Saint John.
The $205-million project includes the consolidation of the Rodney and Navy Island terminals.
This will mean a longer pier, a deeper berth and a wider channel for vessels arriving in the port.
“The project is on track in terms of where we are in the schedule,” Jim Quinn, president and CEO of Port Saint John, said in a recent interview.
Five concrete caissons for the new wharf are installed with the remaining three caissons set to be in place by mid-May.
Quinn said the new wharf is expected to be done by the end of 2022 and the entire project should be completed in the spring of 2023.
From a financial perspective, Quinn said about half of the money allocated for the project has been spent as of late January.
“That’s been on the most difficult part,” he said. “That is the actual dredging of the area in way of the caissons, the actual construction of the caissons, driving these massive piles around the corner of the old dock because we’re going to dredge right up to the corner of that dock.”
Port Saint John said once the project is complete, the berth will measure 780 metres in length, an increase of 345 metres. The berth depth will increase by 4.9 metres to 17.1 metres at chart datum while the main channel width will increase by 40 metres to 190 metres.
The throughput capacity of the new facility will also double to 300,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) from the current 150,000 TEUs. In addition, the capacity of the railyard will more than double to approximately 2,438 metres from the current 933 metres.
Quinn said the project will set Port Saint John and its supply chain partners up for business growth.
“That’s going to change our waterfront for decades to come,” he said.
Over at the West Side Modernization Project the new concrete caissons, which will become part of the new wharf, are being filled with rock. The rock provides stability to help keep them in place. To learn more about this project, click here: https://t.co/VL4dAj8jTC#ModernizeSJ pic.twitter.com/FSmbcmT6fO
— Port Saint John (@PortSaintJohn) March 5, 2021
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