District, port authority agree on craney
Channel: Norfolk District Army Corps
Date: 2012-06-06

"This is truly a momentous time for the port of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole." - Jerry Bridges
 
And with the stroke of a pen it became official. Years of work to formalize the agreement on who does what in the building of Craney Island's eastward expansion became reality when Colonel Paul Olsen, commander of the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Jerry Bridges, the Virginia Port Authorities executive director, signed their names on the line. 

"The signing of this agreement today puts us in full speed ahead mode." - Bridges

"Our terminal is literally coming out of the water, it's a phoenix rising from the water, which will be contructed and soon you can see ships at that terminal raising the economic power and raising the national power as well."  - Col. Paul Olsen

The eastward expansion of the Corps' dredge material management area will expand the life of the facility, as well as provide additional land for the Virginia Port Authority to open a new terminal complex -- complete with interstate and rail tie-ins.

"Years from now we will have a new facility to expand our growth" - Bridges

According to the Port Authority, the expanded facility is needed to keep up with the increasing ship traffic calling on the Port, as well as the expected growth in larger post-panamax ships which will be making stops here as well once the Panama Canal expansion is complete in 2014. 

"The expansion of the Panama Canal will play very large in the increased volumes that move through our port and Craney Island will be key in us capturing a bigger share of that cargo." - Bridges 

The new facility is projected to have a large positive economic impact for the nation.
"It's projected that this project , once its complete, will produce over 54,000 jobs." - Bridges 

Jobs that are needed and highlight the importance of having a formalized agreement to move forward to the finish line.  

"We know we have been working on this process for a number of years, but sometimes to get to the essence of the matter and get the best product it takes a little time." --Bridges

From Norfolk, Va., Patrick Bloodgood