Port of Catoosa receives grant

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), today announced that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) will award the Tulsa Port of Catoosa with a $6.4 million grant.   

The funds, made available through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, will cover approximately 48 percent of a rehabilitation project for the Port's Main Dock.

“The federal government has an obligation to maintain this federally operated waterway,” said Inhofe.  “That is why I have long worked with the Army Corps of Engineers to make sure the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigational System operates at full capacity.  The Port of Catoosa is a major economic gateway.  Barge traffic delivers $1.3 million of commerce to Oklahoma each day, and this grant will provide a portion of the funding to make important improvements while expanding the Port of Catoosa’s main dock.  This is great economic news for Oklahoma and the region.”

The project encompasses a significant rehabilitation of the Main Dock through demolition of an existing obsolete transit shed, construction of new concrete dock surface, upgrades to the existing overhead crane, and the addition of a second crane on the expanded dock. The project will double the Main Dock capacity, allowing simultaneous handling of multiple barges and potentially containers.

"The rehabilitation of the Main Dock at the Port will generate substantial, long-term benefits to the nation and the region through significantly increasing capacity the Port’s overall capacity by creating a state-of-the-art cargo handling facility within the current main dock footprint," said David Page, Chairman of the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority. "The Tiger Grant will also provide other benefits, including further enhancing the Port's existing status as an international logistics center."

As a result of the capacity increase provided by the Main Dock Rehabilitation Project, more than one million tons of iron and steel/break bulk cargo can be handled per year at the Port of Catoosa. These capacity improvements have the potential to redirect truck transport traffic including intermodal shipments from a number of Gulf ports to inland waterborne traffic routes through the Port of New Orleans and subsequently to the Port of Catoosa.
            
The 2,500-acre Port complex offers industrial sites for lease, and its Riverview Business Park, adjacent to the Port, offers property for sale. Together they are home to more than 65 industrial facilities employing more than 3,700 employees.