铁路等级分离。修改了锁和水坝。收费公路和桥梁。挖泥。美国道路与交通建筑商协会的港口和港口联合主席，莫法特和尼科尔的运输总监皮尔斯·荷马说，这些组件是美国基础设施对话中最迷人的部分。

Homer is not being tongue-in-cheek. The impending opening of the Panama Canal's third set of locks, new federal legislation requiring national freight councils, trends in import-export trade balances and other factors are coming together to thrust freight infrastructure to the forefront of the industry—a poster child for job-creating investment.

Its emerging presence is highlighted by scores of recent studies commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, soybean transport associations and others. The reports focus on what the third set of locks—and its ability to handle so-called post-Panamax ships that carry upward of 13,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), or containers—will mean for East Coast and Gulf Coast ports and, ultimately, for all aspects of the nation's freight transportation system.

The American Society of Civil Engineers also released a report this fall noting that, by 2020, investment needs of ports and inland waterways will total $30 billion, while planned investments are only about $14 billion. Congestion and delays will lead to a hike in the cost of goods, and "we are on course to lose more than one million jobs and more than $1 trillion in personal income by 2020," stated Andrew W. Herrmann, ASCE president.

美国港口当局协会发言人亚伦·多诺万（Aaron Donovan）说，就交通拥堵而言，“最后一英里的联系是真正缺乏的”。“货物运动的主要动脉之间的最后增量 - 通常，这就像坡道不存在。”

But will this new synergy of attention around freight infrastructure reap any results? "MAP-21 was like having someone come and pat you on the head and say, 'We think marine transportation is important,' " says Barry Holliday, president of the Dredging Contractors of America. "But we embrace the reality that at least there is a maritime bill."

东海岸港口位于主要城市地区,莱克阀门e New York-New Jersey, Virginia, Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., are the big-league prospects to make the most out of potential increased container traffic from the canal. "The key issue for these ports is depth, depth, depth," says Patrick King, ports director with CH2M Hill.

Eastern Giants

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is in the final stages of a multiyear, 50-ft-deep main-channel dredging program and a $600-million intermodal rail program. It is also spending $90 million to repair Sandy-related damage and expand Greenville Yards, a 250,000-lift intermodal facility for a private terminal operator, says Richard Larrabee, the authority's port commerce director.

However, 80% of all cargo still goes on trucks, and so the port is spending $350 million on roadway improvements, Larrabee adds. The port's biggest project is the raising of the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the passage of post-Panamax ships (ENR 8/27 p. 17). And a new strategic plan under way will go beyond actual port facilities to focus on potential construction of new warehouses and distribution centers, he says, adding, "Savannah has done a great job of attracting these, and we'd like to do the same."

The Port of Savannah is preparing for a $600-million program to dredge to 48 ft from 42 ft, increase capacity and bring in new post-Panamax cranes. Like the Bayonne bridge project, it has a pledge from President Obama's "We Can't Wait" program to expedite federal reviews. Its archrival in Charleston also received the same designation as it looks to dredge to 50 ft from 45 ft.

Charleston hopes to shave five years off its time line to meet a 2019 completion, says Allison Skipper, port spokeswoman. The port is also in a $1.3-billion capital program that includes upgrading its terminal operating system, developing an intermodal rail facility and building a $180-million port road connector to Interstate 26.

Roads, rail and inland ports are also vital pieces of the Port of Virginia's game plan, which already boasts a 50-ft-deep channel. "All the terminals are ready to go, and the cranes are in place," says Joe Harris, port spokesman. "But the race is never over." While in the midst of a 10-year plan to pump in and compact dredge material for a future 600-acre terminal site called Craney Island, the port "has been blessed by geography and Norfolk Southern completing the Heartland Corridor [ENR 9/18/06 p. 7], connecting us to Chicago," he adds. "And as we speak, CSX is chipping away at the National Gateway."

CSX女发言人劳伦·鲁埃格（Lauren Rueger）表示，这种多州的公私伙伴关系（P3）努力消除铁路障碍，并允许在俄亥俄州西北部和东海岸港口之间无缝运输双层货运。她补充说，到目前为止，耗资8.5亿美元的P3损失了5.75亿美元，在俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州之间取消了40个障碍积分中的24个。其中包括建造10个隧道，两座桥梁和8个年级分离。在华盛顿特区进行了16500万美元的隧道项目，正在接受环境审查，CSX正在与马里兰州合作，在巴尔的摩建立一个联运码头。

Onerail联盟主任安妮·坎比（Anne Canby）说，这种多区域多模式的计划至关重要，他指出，州机构倾向于“只考虑自己的运输方式。但是货运以多种模式进行，因此必须是想到了整个系统。这开始发生。”

The Virginia port is investing about $250 million in a $1.4-billion, 55-mile toll road. Scheduled to open in 2018, it will provide an expedited connection to U.S. 58 and I-295.

In Florida, the ports of Jacksonville and Miami also received "We Can't Wait" status for 50-ft dredging plans. "The Panama Canal widening has huge potential economic impact, but it's too difficult to estimate at this point," says Doug Wheeler, president of the Florida Ports Council. "But it's not just about that. Florida's ports have historically been for break-bulk cargo, aggregates, etc. Industry has shifted to containers, so we're doing some catching up."

迈阿密港口50英尺深的计划刚刚通过陆军工程兵团征集出价。施工计划于2013年初开始，并于2015年初完成。

但是，有关如何优化美国货运基础设施的问题超出了运河的影响。例如，科珀斯克里斯蒂港正在为出口增长做准备，其中有超过4亿美元的铁路扩建和批量航站楼升级。改变游戏规则：Eagle Ford Senale-Gas开发。港口董事约翰·拉鲁（John Larue）说：“在过去的40年中，我们被进口石油所占据主导地位。”“在过去的18个月中，情况发生了变化。”多亏了页岩，该港口正在与西方石油等公司签约数十亿美元的新设施。

Beyond the Canal

Overseas demand for coal and grain were expected to be the main driver for growth, but drought and dropping coal prices have delayed that, he adds. "Right now, coal costs are too low to ship overseas. But that won't last forever, and the [widened] Panama Canal will make the coal going to Asia more competitive."

CP的结构总监John Unsworth说，煤炭问题迫使加拿大太平洋在粉末河流域以西235英里的轨道建造了封存。CP正在研究北达科他州与页岩相关的机会，以及温哥华港口从美国西海岸港口启动亚洲业务的计划，但中国经济正在放缓，因此这可能会减慢我们的速度。”他补充说。

But investing in the ability to handle heavy cargoes, including agricultural goods, across the nation is vital no matter what, says Walter Kemmsies, chief economist for Moffatt & Nichol. "We have to invest in export infrastructure and compete for a world market," he says. "Incomes will rise, and tax revenues will grow automatically. That's how critical it is."

托莱多的港口知道这一点。在2000年代中期，由于圣劳伦斯海道的动态变化，它开始了重大的资本计划。托莱多 - 卢卡斯县港口管理局的货物开发总监乔·卡佩尔（Joe Cappel）说：“这不再与钢铁有关。”“现在，这是关于风力行业，天然气管，核变压器的刀片和塔。”两辆新的移动起重机和一个大型材料处理程序渲染托莱多能够处理任何将来的集装箱运输，这些运输将穿越圣劳伦斯海道。

"Does every U.S. port need to handle these larger ships, or should we take a more strategic approach to systems, including St. Lawrence, and ask what markets can we best serve?" Cappel says.

The Waterways Council is lobbying for bipartisan support of a capital plan to fund 25 out of 26 inland water projects; the Olmsted Dam so far has taken up all the funding, says President Mike Toohey. "Export grain producers anticipate a great opportunity to expand, and they rely on the inland waterway system."

此外,“不是每个东部和墨西哥湾沿岸港口是focused on expanding," says Jeffrey Schechtman, ports and intermodal market leader with Parsons Brinckerhoff. "It's a wait-and-see approach. There may be opportunities that don't entail those huge ships." Adds Scudder Smith, principal consultant with PB Consult, "Smaller ports with shallower depths are still looking at what the overall change in the freight network might look like. For example, transshipments—that is a pattern that may be evolving."

在今年发布新利18备用的一项研究中，全国发展组织协会（NADO）指出：“沿海地区和互联内陆地区的地区可以分析其基础设施和经济机会……以利用新的货物运输方式。”它指出，即使是在密西西比河和俄亥俄河流汇合处的阿巴拉契亚人和肯塔基州的购买区等内陆地区，也计划确定未来的基础设施可能性。

But the West Coast giants aren't resting. "The West Coast ports aren't going out of business anytime soon," says CH2M Hill's King. "There might be some limited shifts in terms of who feeds the heartland."

"We needed to be at the top of our game, and we're spending more than $1 million per day on infrastructure right now to have the premier facilities in the world," says Tony Gioiello, chief harbor engineer for the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), which handles over 60% of all waterborne imports from Asia."We're spending almost $1 million per day over the next three years on construction, upgrading and maintenance."

The projects include channel and berth deepening, a $100-million rail facility, shallow-water habitats and a staggering amount of electrical and mechanical work. As part of its Clean Air Action plan, POLA, like its neighbor in Long Beach (see p. 34), has been modifying container berths so that ships can plug into shore power. "This was a $150-million infrastructure investment," Gioiello says. "By 2013, we will have completed work on 27 berths. This is the largest wharf electrification of a container terminal in the world." As for channel deepening, a 15-year, $370-million project, including eco-friendly re-use of dredge material, will be completed in 2013.

西雅图发言人港口彼得·麦格劳（Peter McGraw）指出，租户SSA海军陆战队的起重机可以处理最大的船只。“在过去的几年中，我们在周围的道路基础设施上进行了大量投资，尤其是在航站楼之外的年级分离。但是他补充说：“我们同样担心苏伊士运河。许多东海岸港口都提高了他们的货物进口游戏，托运人继续看加拿大和墨西哥。”

Wally Baker, president of Beat the Canal, an alliance of Southern California freight interests, says that, with the coming competition from East Coast ports' investment in more capacity, prices for shippers will drop. "I would be trying the same thing," he says. "We have everything to lose. Infrastructure is so important."

That's why so many eyes are on MAP-21's baby step of a national freight policy. Industry officials say they want to see a policy that includes a repeal of a domestic harbor maintenance tax and bipartisan support of dedicated freight funding.

"A national policy is very much of interest to us, and that includes all modes," says inland waterways advocate Toohey.

Adds Carrie Kissel, an author of the NADO report, "If planning is broadly aligned and public and private stakeholders come together, regions will see benefits from freight investments whether or not it's from the Panama Canal."