November 19, 2019

SULPHUR, La., Nov.18, 2019 – The West Calcasieu Port Board of Commissioners voted earlier this month to award the contract for the construction of the port’s new entrance road to McManus Construction of Lake Charles, La..

The successful base bid of $1,590,233.60 was the lowest among seven bids received by the port during its competitive public bid process. Construction is expected to start by January 2020 with an estimated completion date of August 2020.

“The West Cal Port Board of Commissioners was encouraged to have received such a large number of bid packets for the project,” said Dick Kennison, board president for the West Calcasieu Port. “The commissioners were equally impressed with the quality of the contractors that were interested in the port’s project and spent a considerable amount of time reviewing all of the data and information included in the packets.”

Lynn Hohensee, WCP director, noted that the public facility will work closely with local, state and federal officials to make sure that all construction activity associated with the project is in line with regulatory guidelines and that an aggressive time schedule is followed for the new road work.

“As the number of tenants at the West Calcasieu Port has expanded over the past few years, it became apparent that the port’s neighboring residential community and its quality of life was not conducive to the growing heavy industrial road traffic that accompanied the increased activity at the port, he said.

“For that reason and the convenience of our tenants, the port’s board of commissioners commissioned the construction of a new roadway that would enter the port off Goss Road before entering the residential area,” Hohensee continued.

He explained that the port’s board of commissioners led the way in securing the necessary state funding support for the roadway construction. Significant funding support will come from a $878,382 portion of a $1,200,618 Port Priority Fund grant awarded to the port by the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development for dredging of the port’s barge basin and construction of the entrance road.

“The Port Priority Fund grant is restricted to 90 percent of the construction costs related to the road construction project,” Hohensee said. “The port is using internal funding to cover the costs associated with the balance of the construction costs as well as the engineering and permitting costs associated with the project.”

Located 12 miles south of Interstate 10 and just west of Highway 27, the WCP has 2,500 feet of waterfront property on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Current tenant activity includes barge-fleeting operations, marine construction, wet barge cleaning/stripping, dry cargo barge cleaning and concrete pumping.