The $8.8 million project includes a 600-ft. bulkhead with a 40-ft. apron, which can accommodate three barges for loading and unloading. (Photo courtesy of port airspace.com)

Mississippi's Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission (HCPHC) continues its construction of a new maritime dock and railroad facility at Port Bienville Industrial Park near the state's Gulf Coast.

The $8.8 million project includes a 600-ft. bulkhead with a 40-ft. apron, which can accommodate three barges for loading and unloading. In addition, a 250-ft. crushed stone laydown yard will extend from the apron for operations and storage.

According to portairspace.com, the effort also includes building two Port Bienville Shortline Railroad track extensions to serve the dock with rail-to-barge intermodal operations. Access roads also will be improved for trucks and other vehicles.

The RESTORE Dock project was funded in 2017 by a $7.4 million federal grant in 2017. The dock takes its name from the grant — the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), which was established in 2012.

The program got its funds from penalties related to 2010's catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the nearby Gulf of Mexico, and awards grants to the region for restoration and protection of the effected states' natural resources and economy.

An added $510,000 in funding was provided by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) program. HCPHC contributed the remaining $870,000.

"The port and harbor commission is committed to growing economic opportunities," said HCPHC Chief Executive Officer Bill Cotter in a statement. "Thanks to the support of federal, state and local partners, this infrastructure investment will support business operations and continued growth of our maritime business."

Construction Started in Spring 2021

The dock and railroad construction project at Port Bienville was awarded to Gill's Crane and Dozer Service Inc., of Slidell, La., for $7.4 million, according to the website. The notice to proceed work was issued in May 2021, and the project is expected to be completed this fall.

The RESTORE Dock is part of a 35-acre parcel on the industrial canal at Port Bienville. With maritime, rail and road access, the intermodal facility will soon support transload operations, bulk material handling, liquid transfer and warehousing for import and export businesses.

Each year, approximately 480,000 tons of material move across Port Bienville's public and private docks. When the current construction is finished, RESTORE Dock will be the fifth such public facility in HCPHC's portfolio. Two other docks are owned by industrial tenants at the port.

"The [HCPHC] continues to invest for the future of Hancock County," Cotter explained. "Our industrial assets provide the logistical solutions that allow existing tenants to expand and attract new businesses to the area."

With its 12-ft.-deep industrial canal, Port Bienville provides access to the Intracoastal Waterway via the Pearl River. Connecting the port to the CSX rail line, the Port Bienville Railroad boasts 17 mi. of track and processes more than 8,000 loaded railcars a year.

The industrial park also is home to 16 companies employing nearly 700 people.

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