Friday, May 17, 2013

The Port of Paulsboro


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In a push to adapt and reposition itself in a global 21st century economy, the South Jersey Port Corporation and the Gloucester County Improvement Authority are re-outfitting a closed industrial site to create a multimodal port in Southern New Jersey.  This report analyzes existing conditions at the port site and explores how infrastructure improvements contribute to the port’s productive advantage.

Because of contamination at an old oil storage and distribution facility, BP cheaply leased their property to the Borough of Paulsboro as the site to develop a marine port facility.  Benefiting from a strategic location along the Delaware River, the port inherits centuries of accumulated infrastructure surrounding it.  An existing marine channel backbones the site, while Shortline and Class 1 railroads and an interstate highway connect the marine terminal to the American hinterland.

Investments in infrastructure that support freight movement will facilitate port operations and further promote commerce in the region.  Major stimulus begins with remediation of industrial land and the construction of the new marine terminal, but additional improvements enhance the Port of Paulsboro’s connectivity.   Track expansions in Paulsboro and in the region add to the rail network’s reach.  A new Freight as a Good Neighbor access road allows trucks to avoid residential neighborhoods when connecting from the port to the interstate highway.  And the Missing Moves Project seeks to alleviate bottleneck congestion along the regional truck corridor.

With a large tract of land, Paulsboro also offers customizable co-location opportunities that allow for value-added distribution or manufacturing on site.  This becomes especially important since the port is positioned to handle specialty cargo.  Combined with unique multimodal access, this flexibility gives the port a competitive edge in handling and processing heavy steel plates for offshore wind turbines.  Reaping the benefits of these productive advantages, the port expects to create 2,500 jobs, while the offshore wind industry will employ an additional 2,000 workers.  In total, employment multipliers predict the port to support 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Other redeveloped brownfield sites at Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Bucks County and the less-than-effective iPort12 distribution center in Carteret further emphasize the requisite formula for developing a new port – it all depends on improving existing freight networks.  Successful brownfield redevelopment projects leverage cheap land with extensive infrastructure networks to create hubs where port functions and value-added industrial services support one another.  Cohabitation provides a productive advantage that attracts new industrial activity and creates jobs.  Following this proven development model, the Port of Paulsboro capitalizes on its inherent advantages as it revives an old industrial hub in South Jersey.


The Report

Below is the report on the development practices of the Port of Paulsboro.  Click the first slide to enlarge, then scroll.






























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