Port to get $4.7M in state funds for rail, dock work

The Port of Morgan City is set to receive about $4.7 million from the state for work on the port’s railroad spur and dock.

Port officials plan to spend another $1.1 million of the port’s own funds for the project.

Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the district to enter into an agreement with the state Department of Transportation and Development under the Louisiana Port Construction and Development Priority Program for railroad spur, dock and land improvements, Port Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said.

Port of Morgan City officials plan to use their own funds to start the work and then get reimbursement later from state government.

Randall Withers, director of Ports and Waterways for DOTD, confirmed that those funds were approved by the state joint transportation committee. Funding will be available in two or three years, Withers said.

Port commissioners authorized the district to enter into an agreement with Providence Engineering and Design for engineering and design work on the project. Port leaders learned about two weeks ago that the port would receive the funds.

Work will include enclosing a drainage ditch and installing a culvert to provide access to the port’s railroad spur on Youngs Road and allow workers to unload rail cars at that location. The funds will also pay for upgrades to the railroad spur, Wade said.

This money will help “fill in” gaps in a dock extension project that the port did many years ago along the Intracoastal Waterway, he said.

Officials hope to start construction on refurbishing and repairing the railroad spur by January 2019. The next phase should be to cover the ditch by the spur starting in spring 2019, Wade said.

Work on the dock will probably begin in late 2019, and the entire project should be finished within two to three years, he said.

In addition to the $4.7 million the port will receive, the port is requesting $3.75 million in state capital outlay funds over a three-year period for maintenance dredging in the Atchafalaya River and Bar Channel.

The state has provided funds to other ports, so Port of Morgan City officials decided to seek assistance from the state, too, Wade said. Port leaders should find out in April or May 2019 whether the port will receive those capital outlay funds.