Port moves ahead with rail capacity expansion at NIT as board approves $61M construction bid

The Port of Virginia® is embarking on an expansion of its double-stack, on-dock rail operation that when complete will allow the port to handle 1.1 million containers a year via rail.

The process of doubling the size of the Central Rail Yard at Norfolk International Terminals moved ahead Tuesday when the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the project’s $61.5 million construction bid. The work will be done by Allan Myers Virginia Inc., the same company that handled the optimization projects at NIT and Virginia International Gateway (VIG).

 Central Rail Yard. Photo / Virginia Port Authority 

Additionally, the VPA board approved moving forward on an $18 million contract with Konecranes for up to three cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes and their support systems.

When complete, NIT’s Central Rail Yard will be able to accommodate 610,000 annual container lifts; current lift capacity is 350,000 at NIT and 480,000 at VIG. The construction encompasses demolition, pavement work, utilities infrastructure and installation of new railroad track. The work begins in February 2022 and will be complete in late 2023.

The completion of the rail expansion project is timed to support opening of the port’s deeper and wider commercial ship channel. The dredge work to take Virginia’s channel depth to 55 feet is underway and scheduled for completion in mid-to-late 2024 – the wider channel will make way for safe, two-way traffic of ultra-large container vessels.

“In a little more than two years The Port of Virginia will be served by the deepest and widest ship channel anywhere on the US East Coast,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the VPA. “Pairing that channel depth with modern terminals and significant rail capacity is going to attract big ships and more cargo volume. We are going to need the rail capacity to support the additional cargo we’ll be getting from this shift of big vessels to Virginia.”

The project will also support further optimization of NIT as the port begins its preliminary planning for expanding the container capacity at the terminal’s North Berth. That project, when complete, will create the throughput capacity to handle 630,000 containers annually. The design work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022 with construction to begin in the spring of 2023.

“We have a clear roadmap for investment to stay ahead of the curve,” Edwards said. “These projects will help meet the needs of our customers and the cargo owners while giving us the capacity and capability to be the premiere US East Coast destination for rail cargo and big ships.”