Port projects await better weather

At the Port of West St. Mary’s regular meeting of commissioners Tuesday, Reid Miller of Miller Engineers & Associates reported slow progress on most construction components of port projects due to the recent bout of inclement weather in the area.
He said that the second phase of the Department of Transportation and Development project, the erection of a building already on site at the port, awaits only the drier climate necessary for its installation.
With an eye to Phase III of the DOTD project, a resolution certifying compliance with the public bid laws was passed, and Miller reported contract submittals to be already incoming from potential contractors concerning the cranes and fencing portion of the project.
A request was approved to pay Trio Compressed Air Systems $10,202 for the air compressor from Phase I of the DOTD project.
And Phase IV of the DOTD project, the bulkhead and limestone portions, is being assessed by Miller and Executive Director David Allain, to determine how much of the bulkhead can be repaired and how much limestone can be installed at the site, with a set of plans as to those specifics, set to be available for review in the next weeks.
As for the Economic Development Administration project, Miller said the first phase, the earthwork phase, is now underway with plans set to be available by the end of this month. The plans will then be sent off for review by agencies in Dallas and Baton Rouge in order to move forward subsequent to their approval.
Miller said the geotechnical engineering results for the EDA project site have been completed showing favorable conditions with “nothing out of the ordinary,” to prevent the foundation for Phase I to have begun by the “end of the Holidays.”
Resolutions of respect were also approved at the meeting, for Vernon “Chips” Bell and J. Cameron Webster.