McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has begun construction on the Port of Houston Bayport Terminal Complex Phase I Wharf. The project, valued at over $100 million, will include a 1,332-foot extension to the existing Bayport Terminal Complex. The Bayport Terminal Complex Phase I Wharf is scheduled for completion in June 2010. The engineer for the project is Dannenbaum Engineering of Houston.
The Bayport Terminal Complex comprises chemical and chemical specialty facilities operated by more than 70 U.S. and foreign companies. The Phase I Wharf extension will allow for substantial increases in containerized cargo traffic at the Port of Houston's Bayport Terminal Complex, providing capacity to accommodate two additional standard-size freighters and one of the new class E super freighters, which are more than twice the size of most cargo ships. This concrete wharf extension will utilize more than 30,000 cubic yards of concrete and sit on a foundation of over 900 cased piers, which will include rail track to support three mobile gantry cranes.
Due to the site's location off the Gulf Coast, McCarthy will be tasked with preparing the project for high-wind resistance in order to prime the wharf for potential hurricanes and tropical storms that may develop in this coastal area. McCarthy recently completed three projects for the Port of Houston totaling more than $90 million.