Virginia International Gateway stack-yard project done

The expansion has doubled the terminal’s annual container throughput to 1.2 million container lifts a year.    The Port of Virginia announced Monday the completion of its stack-yard expansion at Virginia International Gateway, which leaves two projects to be completed before the terminal’s overall $320 million expansion effort is finished in June.
   With the completion of stack No. 1, the terminal now has 13 additional container stacks — each served by two new rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGCs) — to complement the 15 existing stacks, which also are served by RMCGs. The existing stacks are scheduled for refurbishing throughout the year.
   The expansion has doubled the terminal’s annual container throughput capacity to 1.2 million container lifts a year, the port said in a statement.
   “Our turn times for motor carriers are improving, there is better flow at our gates and our service levels are trending in the right direction,” said John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “We are on budget, on time and with the end clearly in sight, we are already seeing the benefits.” 
   The stack yard is being combined with four new Suez-class ship-to-shore cranes, 800 additional feet of berth space, four new inbound lanes at the truck gate, a new terminal operating system and a reconfigured on-dock rail yard with 19,600 feet of track served by four cantilever RMGCs.
   The four ship-to-shore cranes will be ready for service in March and the rail yard is scheduled for completion in late May, according to the statement.
   The VIG expansion is one of two expansion projects that will increase the port’s overall container capacity by 40 percent — 1 million containers — by 2020, the statement read.
   The Port of Virginia also began a $375 million project in early 2018 to expand the south stack container yard at Norfolk International Terminals. The container yard at South NIT will be reconfigured and equipped with 60 new RMGCs. 
   The project, which will expand the annual capacity by 400,000 containers, is scheduled for completion by 2020 with the first 12 new container stacks ready for delivery in mid-February. Work for the second phase — six stacks — began in December and the third phase — 12 stacks — is scheduled to start in May, according to the release.