A celebration for the completion of PortMiami’s 50/52 foot deep dredge project and on-dock intermodal rail recently took place today at PortMiami.

More than $1 billion of capital infrastructure projects are now complete, the port announced, and have transformed PortMiami to a major U.S. global gateway. They also make PortMiami the only major logistics hub south of Virginia capable of handling fully laden post-panamax vessels.

PortMiami now offers super post-panamax gantry cranes that can service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide and up to nine containers above deck and eleven containers below. On-dock intermodal rail service in partnership with Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) today links PortMiami to 70 percent of the U.S. population in four days or less. A new fast access tunnel connects the port directly to interstate highways providing rapid turnaround time for the movement of import and export goods.

“A new big ship era is here and PortMiami is ready,” said PortMiami Director and CEO Juan M. Kuryla. “I am proud to say that PortMiami is now able to berth post-panamax ships; and we are able to expedite the movement of goods throughout Florida, the continental U.S., and the world, fast and efficiently. We are grateful to the vision of our State and local leaders for making this critical infrastructure project a reality. The completion of PortMiami’s deep dredge and intermodal on-dock rail projects cannot be overstated, PortMiami is now positioned as the most reliable, convenient and efficient global hub on the North American East Coast ready to service the world’s leading ocean carriers.”

“We congratulate our partner PortMiami on the completion of the Deep Dredge which will enable big ships to make a direct call,” said FECR President and CEO Jim Hertwig. “We have come a long way since our on-dock rail groundbreaking in July of 2011, to the completion of the port tunnel last year, and now the completion of the deep dredge. Today FECR runs daily port trains with cargo going to and from global markets that reach 70 percent of the U.S. population in four days or less including next-day service within the State of Florida and second day service throughout the southeast.”