HOUSTON, July 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) is pleased to announce that four of its high-priority projects totaling more than $40 million in earmarks have been included in the Transportation Reauthorization Act that has passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives. The four projects in southeast Harris County would ease traffic congestion and improve the flow of cargo in and out of the port's public (PHA) and private facilities. Additionally, the projects will improve the safety of commuters by improving roadways used by trucks and by preventing interaction of motorists and trains at several busy crossings.
Through the leadership and hard work of Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the Transportation Reauthorization Act includes authorization for the straighten and widening of Port Road near State Highway 146, the construction of direct connectors from State Highway 146 to Port Road, the grade separation of Choate Road over State Highway 146 and the Union Pacific Railroad corridor, and grade separating State Highway 146 over Red Bluff and a future Port Terminal Railroad Association line that will cross under State Highway 146 in the area. All four of these projects are in Majority Leader DeLay's district.
"The Majority Leader recognized that this area along the State Highway 146 has significant traffic congestion in key areas today, much of which can be corrected by constructing these four projects," said PHA Chairman James Edmonds. "The Port Authority appreciates his understanding of complex multi-modal transportation issues and his efforts to address those issues in a positive way. He has been a good friend to the port and the region."
Majority Leader DeLay said, "The Port Authority really stepped up to plate on these transportation issues near its facilities to prevent future problems from their cargo movements and improve the poor level of service that exist today. These projects are going to improve the commute times for my constituents along State Highway 146 in this rapidly growing area."
The four projects were requested by the Citizen Advisory Group for the Bayport Container Terminal during the environmental review period for Bayport. "The citizens asked the Port Authority to help push for these projects to be done quickly and the Majority Leader understood the importance and got them done," stated PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay. "This is a promise made and a promise kept. We thank Congressman DeLay for his leadership in helping us keep this promise to the community."
The importance of these projects is that they will help the PHA move the increasing volume of containerized cargo it handles across its docks to market. The global marketplace for international trade has changed and continues change. Trade statistics show exports from China to the U.S. have increased 31 percent in just one year. The new Dominican Republic-Central American Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) that passed this week is expected to increase Houston's cargo shipping volumes. The Port of Houston's trade with the DR-CAFTA countries -- including the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua -- has doubled in value in just the last five years to $1.3 billion from $625 million. The impact of such dramatic trade growth ripples across many industries, most notably the transportation sector.
"Coupled with other forces in the marketplace, such changes can mean new opportunities for the Port of Houston," said Kornegay. "Increasing transportation capacity for more cargo through a variety of projects is essential to capitalizing on increased trade and boosting economic development for Houston and Texas. These projects reflect the PHA's planning to accommodate the growth in container trade while minimizing community impact."
The state's enormous and rapidly growing consumer market makes Houston the first choice for shippers of containerized cargo in the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Houston handles 64 percent of all the container activity along the U.S. Gulf Coast and 94 percent of the container activity in Texas.
The four projects successfully added by the Majority Leader DeLay will reduce community impacts from increased trade by public and private sectors terminals in Southeast Harris County.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange.
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