International Port in Southport

[dombalis]

Which city is supposed to benefit more from the new International port, Wilmington, or Southport? I don't know much about the area, but i was wondering if Southport is going to rival Wilmington in size eventually? What are the population estimates for Wilmington in the next 10-20 years?

[NCMike1981]

Doesn't Southport have a population of under 5,000? I don't think it will catch up to Wilmington anytime soon

[NcSc74]

If anything it will boost the metro numbers. I would imagine most people would choose to live in and around Wilmington and commute to Southport. I can see southeastern Brunswick county gaining population but not at the rate New Hanover. Unless some large manufacturers follow the port to the area then Southport will show a steady increase but not to the scale of Wilmington. By the way this port was a long time coming. The port at Wilimington just has to many limitations to compete. The turning basin isn't that big, the river accumulates too much silt and needs to be dredged on a regular basis. Plus the depth was 38 ft now with serious dredging it is 42ft. It is obvious that the location is not a natural deepwater port like Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah. Our natural deepwater location is at Southport but for some reason our port authority chose to keep Wilmington as the main locale for the terminal and ignored the obvious natural advantage the Southport location has. If there were a port there to begin with then maybe it would have been more competitive with other east coast ports.

[dombalis]

If anything it will boost the metro numbers. I would imagine most people would choose to live in and around Wilmington and commute to Southport. I can see southeastern Brunswick county gaining population but not at the rate New Hanover. Unless some large manufacturers follow the port to the area then Southport will show a steady increase but not to the scale of Wilmington. By the way this port was a long time coming. The port at Wilimington just has to many limitations to compete. The turning basin isn't that big, the river accumulates too much silt and needs to be dredged on a regular basis. Plus the depth was 38 ft now with serious dredging it is 42ft. It is obvious that the location is not a natural deepwater port like Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah. Our natural deepwater location is at Southport but for some reason our port authority chose to keep Wilmington as the main locale for the terminal and ignored the obvious natural advantage the Southport location has. If there were a port there to begin with then maybe it would have been more competitive with other east coast ports.

[suburban george3]

I'm just afraid that Wilmington/Southport will turn into another RDU-RTP; packed highways during rush hour, etc. It's great for the state and all, but i wish there was some sort of mass transit option to keep pollution down...

[dombalis]

Um, I'm not sure where you're from but the highways and roads around the Wilmington Metro are pretty much packed from 6am til about 9pm at night. The road infrastructure there is not keeping up with growth at all.

Southport is growing and a port will boost that, but as stated earlier most will commute down into the Southport area. A lot of the growth around Southport is for relocating retirees and is fairly pricey.

[suburban george3]

Just saying that currently traffic is a mess down there. I actually hate driving in Wilmington more than I do Raleigh or Charlotte mainly because you're limited pretty much to surface streets that are much, much, more dangerous. Wilmington could probably support light rail in the near, but I doubt the money will be there to fund it.

[pack-man]

wilmington's road infrastructure is 20 years behind. adding a port in Southport with the exising roads there now is quite humorous. i'm not sure who's brainchild this projects is, but they would need to consider massive transportation needs to accomodate this port. the only rail line reaching southport is the one for sunny point that i believe ADM and PE use on an "as need" basis. This would have to be increased. However, the roads to Southport (87/211 and 133) aren't equipped to handle anymore traffic then they are already receiving. they are considered rural routes and in no way should be considered for large trucks. This small area is already bursting at the seems when it comes to congestion(especially during travel season) A lot of work would have to be done prior to this port being built.

[TLT]

wilmington's road infrastructure is 20 years behind. adding a port in Southport with the exising roads there now is quite humorous. i'm not sure who's brainchild this projects is, but they would need to consider massive transportation needs to accomodate this port. the only rail line reaching southport is the one for sunny point that i believe ADM and PE use on an "as need" basis. This would have to be increased. However, the roads to Southport (87/211 and 133) aren't equipped to handle anymore traffic then they are already receiving. they are considered rural routes and in no way should be considered for large trucks. This small area is already bursting at the seems when it comes to congestion(especially during travel season) A lot of work would have to be done prior to this port being built.

[TLT]

Which city is supposed to benefit more from the new International port, Wilmington, or Southport? I don't know much about the area, but i was wondering if Southport is going to rival Wilmington in size eventually? What are the population estimates for Wilmington in the next 10-20 years?

[CapeFearRiver10]

very little do yall believe VA & SC ports are going to let Wilmington ports out do there cities. LOL

[NcSc74]

very little do yall believe VA & SC ports are going to let Wilmington ports out do there cities. LOL

[pack-man]

again, even with all the planned "visions" of highways through brunswick county, there is no proposal on the table for any of these roads to reach Southport. Which leaves Southport inaccessible by major thoroughfare. For a port to exist, it should have limit access roads for large trucks and rail in place. Southport is far from any advancement in either area. The port idea will remain a pipe dream for a long time until the existing network in the southport area is seriously upgraded.

[TLT]

again, even with all the planned "visions" of highways through Brunswick county, there is no proposal on the table for any of these roads to reach Southport. Which leaves Southport inaccessible by major thoroughfare. For a port to exist, it should have limit access roads for large trucks and rail in place. Southport is far from any advancement in either area. The port idea will remain a pipe dream for a long time until the existing network in the southport area is seriously upgraded.

[TLT]

Here are the rankings of the ports on the east coast according to APAA (America Port Authorities Association). They are ranked by TEU which equals twenty foot equivalent of containers.Each twenty foot container equals one unit forty foot containers equal 2 units etc. These numbers are for 2005, the latest numbers available.

When the current port expansion at Wilmington is complete the TEU is expected to increase to 563,000. If a new port is built at Southport it is expected to turn 2,000,000 TEU in a year.

Charleston's expansion would bring there TEU up to 3,000,000.

Georgia and South Carolina have a planned joint port that would be located on the line in Jasper county SC. I would don't know if this would counted as part of Savannah's port or not since it would be a joint venture.

Consider how Wilmington and maybe a new international port would go up in the rankings when the expansion of the Wilmington Port is complete in 2010 and the new port opens in 2015. Wilmington will rival Baltimore and the new port would be in the top 5 with Charleston, Savannah, Hampton Roads and of course New York.

Top 15 east coast.

port.....................TEU's

New York..............4,793,000

Charleston............1,986,000

Hampton Roads......1,982,000

Savannah.............1,901,000

Miami...................1,054,000

Fort Lauderdale........797,000

Jacksonville.............777,000

Baltimore................602,000

Wilmington,DE..........250,000

Palm Beach.............248,000

Philadelphia.............205,000

Boston...................186,000

Wilmington,NC.........149,000

Camden...................45,000

Richmond.................42,000

[pack-man]

I think you are physic. The same day you posted the first time, May 22, there was an article in the Wilmington Star news about improving the roads in Brunswick County, part of it dealing with the roads around where the port would be. State Rep. Bonner Stiller is working on some road improvement bills and ideas in Raleigh. There is plans to widen both hwy 211 and Midway Road to four lanes from South Port. The 211 project is already funded and he is working on getting this project moved up by at least a year, the midway road project is under serious consideration by DOT Division Engineer Allen Pope, to create another route to the hwy 17 bypass. Midway Road is about half way between South Port and hwy 17 and veers off to the north, making a shorter route on the way to Wilmington. The plan is to have these two projects completed by the time the port opens.

I don't know what kind of rail structure Sunny Point Military Terminal has, but it is the largest military port in the nation so I think they would have some kind of base they could work with. The port would be right beside the terminal.

There was another article talking about all the buzz the talk of the port is creating from the South Carolina ports concern on how it would effect them, to the import heavy fashion industry in New York City.

The one thing it needs is a private partner, which may not be a problem being that 7 of the 10 major international shipping lines have already made inquiries to the NC Port Authority.

[NcSc74]

Looks like the port at Wilmington is picking up business. The port is going on a record pace for containers with plans for more expansion.

http://www.ncports.com/

Maybe its just me but if I am building a superport down river why would I continue to fund the port at Wilmington. I am sure this superport is a go but if it is geared toward containerized cargo then why expand upriver. In my mind the money allocated by the state should go to improving infrastructure and roads leading in and out of Southport and southern Brunswick county. Also the port at Morehead City is quietly expanding and looking to make a dent on other east coast ports numbers. All in all I am glad the state finally realizes the importance of operating major ports in your own state. This could shape the growth of eastern NC for many years. Maybe even bring back some badly needed manufacturing jobs.

[TLT]

Looks like the port at Wilmington is picking up business. The port is going on a record pace for containers with plans for more expansion.

http://www.ncports.com/

Maybe its just me but if I am building a superport down river why would I continue to fund the port at Wilmington. I am sure this superport is a go but if it is geared toward containerized cargo then why expand upriver. In my mind the money allocated by the state should go to improving infrastructure and roads leading in and out of Southport and southern Brunswick county. Also the port at Morehead City is quietly expanding and looking to make a dent on other east coast ports numbers. All in all I am glad the state finally realizes the importance of operating major ports in your own state. This could shape the growth of eastern NC for many years. Maybe even bring back some badly needed manufacturing jobs.

[TLT]

not psychic, just a little too familiar with that area. widening existing roads such as Midway/211 isn't that great of a solution. Midway is eventually going to extend onto Oak Island via the 2nd bridge(if it ever gets built) thus creating a commercial area at that intersection. this will inevitably be a catalyst for development between Midway and St. James. Long Beach Rd. and 211 is already an engineers nightmare, why would you want to increase traffic with large trucks? the ideal solution would be to widen 87 or 133 directly to 17. This area lacks development and will continue for years to come. there is a lot of open land as well to acquire another right-of-way for a "new" road if necessary. Perhaps along the existing rail line. This will connect right next to the future I-74 interchange along US17.

Routing the port traffic back along 211 would be the biggest mistake this area could handle. I would hate to see this happen and hope that someone makes an intelligient decision instead of letting a politician decide. that would be a big mistake.

[pack-man]

i refer to 211 as an engineers nightmare because of the intersection w/ Long Beach Rd. @ Oak Island. This area will only continue to explode with growth and traffic. NCDOT's plan is that the 2nd bridge from Oak Island will help ease congestion at Long Beach Road. It will just add more traffic downstream on 211 headed eastbound back towards Southport. Eventually Long Beach Rd. is suppose to be extended up towards 87 which will ease congestion, but this intersection will continue to be one of the busiest in the county. I do agree that Boiling Springs has some potential, 87 cuts through it on the western most side of the town. It is also laid out with a very generous right-of-way, making it easy for widening. Same thing for 133 except around the Belville area.

Assuming most port action will continue into N. Carolina, your goal would be to get back to an interstate highway. 211 would be backtracking several miles. It would be easy to widen, however, with all the development along that corridor, it will be a disaster IMO.

[TLT]

i refer to 211 as an engineers nightmare because of the intersection w/ Long Beach Rd. @ Oak Island. This area will only continue to explode with growth and traffic. NCDOT's plan is that the 2nd bridge from Oak Island will help ease congestion at Long Beach Road. It will just add more traffic downstream on 211 headed eastbound back towards Southport. Eventually Long Beach Rd. is suppose to be extended up towards 87 which will ease congestion, but this intersection will continue to be one of the busiest in the county. I do agree that Boiling Springs has some potential, 87 cuts through it on the western most side of the town. It is also laid out with a very generous right-of-way, making it easy for widening. Same thing for 133 except around the Belville area.

Assuming most port action will continue into N. Carolina, your goal would be to get back to an interstate highway. 211 would be backtracking several miles. It would be easy to widen, however, with all the development along that corridor, it will be a disaster IMO.

[pack-man]

I see what you mean now. that makes a lot of sense. I think 87 might be the best idea, most direct route to I-140 loop when it is completed. The next phase will bring I-140 to 74/76 to be open to traffic by 2011. Hopefully the last phase shortly there after.

[TLT]

It will be interesting to see when they will pick back up on construction for I-140. Its funny how the road just drops off after the new bridge. I haven't looked in a while, but I guess you are saying somewhere around 2011 for a completion date. I would suspect if they are pushing this port into Southport that they might bump up construction of I-140. The key segment will be from 74/76 to 17 below that new mess of lights/walmart.