The Port of Long Beach announced plans to seek new ways to use a largely undeveloped 150-acre pier to help move cargo more efficiently as the Port continues to welcome increasing trade.
With the looming closure at the end of this month of the temporary storage depot at the Terminal Island parcel known as “Pier S,” Harbor Department officials will begin a process to solicit input on potential uses from industry, environmental groups and the community. Any proposal would undergo a full environmental review.
In the midst of the worst congestion to strike the port complex in years, the 30-acre temporary depot opened on Pier S on Dec. 29, 2014, to store empty cargo containers and free up truck chassis needed to haul loaded containers out of congested terminals at the time. The facility was to close March 31, 2015, but by early March, the needs had changed. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a six-month extension for the facility, and agreed to allow loaded cargo containers and chassis, in order to provide desperately needed space to help terminals deal with a rising flow of cargo.
The temporary depot has been operated by Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals, and was often cited by Port officials as an effective small-scale demonstration of how a near-dock container yard can be used to move cargo more efficiently.
Port staff will prepare a recommendation on the study process for the Harbor Commission’s consideration in the near term.