Port Modernization Project Well Underway

The Port’s west side facilities are a beehive of activity these days with the $205 Million West Side Modernization project well underway. Contractors began caisson construction last week, marking a significant milestone in the infrastructure upgrade. The 8 caissons being created over the next 5 months will support the consolidation of the Rodney and Navy Island terminals for a longer, stronger pier and increased lay down area.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc2VyVufYw4“The caissons will be  40 m long, 25 m wide, and 25 m high and once formed, will be floated into place one by one and weighed down with large quantities of rock until they rest on a pre-placed rock mattress on the harbour floor,” noted Jody Potter, Engineering Projects Manager for Port Saint John. While the entire project will be completed by 2023, construction can be separated in to three categories; new wharf, terminal upgrades and deepening of the channel. Once in place, the caisson structure will settle over the next year before being firmly connected to the existing structure. During that time, focus will shift to terminal improvements away from the pier. “This is a generational project for our Port,” noted Jim Quinn, CEO of Port Saint John. “The last new wharf structure at this location was 40 years ago when Rodney Container Terminal was built.  The Project will set Port Saint John and our supply chain partners up for business growth.” The project, a three-way partnership between Port Saint John, the Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick, is setting the stage for further expansion of the Port’s already diverse cargo business. In partnership with terminal operator DP World, long term business development strategies are underway to bring bigger ships and more cargo to the city. From start to finish, the Project is expected to create 1,412 person years of employment, and once complete, with business growth, the modernized terminal will stimulate an additional 500 employment opportunities across the region in the long term.  Certainly, the COVID-19 global pandemic has created unique challenges for the infrastructure project, but contractors have taken the many policies and procedures in stride and have been strong proponents of safe work under the guidance and monitoring of Work Safe New Brunswick.