Port Manatee opens expanded south gate

A ribbon-cutting on 15 December formally celebrated completion of the US$1.1 million project, which features new gates, guard kiosk, canopy and lighting, as well as reconfigured security fencing.

Widened entry and exit lanes facilitate safe, efficient accommodation of extra-large project cargos, including massive LNG heat exchangers being manufactured at the Air Products Port Manatee facility across US 41 from the port.

“This expanded gate complex literally opens up Port Manatee to a new era in the handling of oversized project cargos,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s Executive Director.

Betsy Benac, who served as chairwoman of the Manatee County Port Authority while the project was advanced, noted that three-quarters of project funding came via a federal grant.

“We are grateful to our federal partners for recognising the importance of this project not just to our port’s ability to safely and securely move cargo, but also to our nation’s advancement of global commerce,” Benac said.

Throughout the six-month construction process, all port traffic was routed via the north gate complex, which remains Port Manatee’s primary point of entry and exit.

Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/ports-terminals/19122016/port-manatee-opens-expanded-south-gate/