BEAUMONT, Texas — New developments underway at the Port of Beaumont are expected to bring jobs and economic development to Southeast Texas.
After 10 years of planning, construction of a new dock finally began in mid-February. The Port of Beaumont’s board of commissioners approved a $57 million construction project to rebuild its Main Street terminal one dock.
"It's going to create economic activity in our area," Sade Chick, director of corporate affairs, said. "So we're talking about the job creation. You may not be able to put a specific number on it, but you're gonna see a lot of activity from it. You're going to see people in our community. You're going to see sales tax dollars. You're going to see it impact so many different areas of our community."
City officials expect the dock to increase the port’s capacity by 15 percent.
“It will be like buzzing bees of construction here at the Port of Beaumont,” Chick said. "You'll see lots of contractors, lots of people working, lots of moving parts. You'll see cranes. You'll see ships. You'll see every mode of transportation coming in and out of the Port of Beaumont to make these things happen.”
Construction is in phase two of the project and includes demolition of a failed dock structure and construction of a new state-of-the-art cargo dock. Chick believes the upgrades currently underway are much needed.
“This project is reconstruction of a dock that is currently at the port. It failed in 2012 due to aging infrastructure,” Chick said. "So, it had components that were over 100 years old, which meant once parts of it started failing and meant reconstruction was the only option. So it is not working right now, but in about two years, we will have a brand new dock in its place.”
The development is expected to not only expected to increase jobs, it is also expected to decrease traffic.
“We think can't come in through the port it may have to come in through rail or they have to come in through truck traffic," Chris Boone, interim city manager, said. "It's not just the economic impact and supply chain trying to address those supply chain issues, but it's also reducing congestion on highways."
The project is also expected to help with supply chain issues that Southeast Texans have been dealing with lately. The construction is expected to be completed in June of 2024.