The rubber is about to meet the road for the Port of Port Arthur facilities upgrade.

Larry Kelley, deputy port director, said the POPA Board of Commissioners will discuss the status of the Berth 5 construction project and Berth 6 expansion project at their regular meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the Port Commission Office, 221 Houston Ave. in Port Arthur.

Kelley said POPA will open bids on Jan. 17, 2018 for a 600-foot expansion. Presently, the Port is in the process of selling bonds.

“It will be a significant improvement by adding flexibility and capability,” he said. “If you noticed, we’ve been taking on a lot of military cargo.”

It will also accommodate larger vessels.

Voters approved the $89.95 million bond in an election in May 2016 to upgrade facilities. In a prior News article, John Comeaux, president of the Port of Port Arthur and Navigation District Boar of Commissioners said the upgrade was a positive vote for jobs and will help the area grow.

“It will create more and more jobs for the entire area,” he said.

POPA ballpark the jobs at 125-150 construction jobs and 25-50 added to various supporting payrolls.

It was approved by a margin of , 1,926, or 67.72 percent voted for the bond while 919, or 32.28 percent voted against.

A second desired project would to be to build a 1,000-foot long dock that would almost reach the MLK Bridge.

“We hope everything goes according to schedule and the building permits pass,” Kelley said. “We think the expansion will cost from $25 million to $35 million. The subsequent project (building the dock) will cost from $55 million to $60 million. The architectural design is not done yet.”

Comeaux, furthermore, said the Port of Port Arthur marked another successful year and looks forward to a bright 2018.

“We appreciate the support of the community to help make our continued growth a reality. With that we will open bids for our Berth 5 project in January 2018,” Comeaux said. “Despite our challenges in 2017, the Port is moving forward on a series of projects connected with the expansion and growth of the port. For 2017, we had robust year for cargo.”

For instance, he said they are pleased with this year’s performance as their traditional forest products and project cargo movements remain strong. Comeaux added that they are ending the year on a high note with new customers and more vessels calling on the Port of Port Arthur.

“One of the new customers adds local long shore jobs,” he said. “We continue to support the Army, we are handling a significant volume of military equipment. We value our military’s service men and women and proud to serve a role in supporting our nation’s defense and humanitarian relief efforts.”

As an example, the Port recently handled military cargo returning from hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

Another accomplishment for the Port and the community is the continued growth and success of Camp SeaPort, envisioned by Commissioner Linda Turner Spears.

In its 11th year and expanded now to two camps, the youth outreach program is a 501c3 charitable organization.

Comeaux adds, “We hope the community will continue to support this outreach effort to area youth in 2018. All in all, despite our challenges, we have been blessed, a credit to fellow board members, staff, local labor, community and our customers.”

Kelley said another event hosted by the Port is Contractor to Contractor.

C2C is scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 at the Port Arthur International Seafarers Center, 401 Houston Ave.

“It is an outreach effort by the Port of Port Arthur, with assistance of SSP Consulting to contact local, small business,” Kelley said. “We will provide a project update and an opportunity for local, minority businesses owned by women to interact with large contractors.”