Duluth Seaway Port Authority Announces $17.7M Dock Reconstruction

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The Duluth Seaway Port Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for its largest project since 1959.

Members of the Port Authority, Congress, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Duluth community gathered together Tuesday morning to kick off the $17.7 million revitalization of Docks C and D.

Over the next year and a half, Docks C and D will be getting a major face lift.

Rep. Rick Nolan believes the multi million dollar plan will give Duluth a big advantage going forward.

Nolan said, “This is really going to enhance our competitiveness in this region, enable us to compete worldwide.”

Work will include increasing depth around docks C and D to 29 feet allowing for more heavily loaded ships and the addition of roll–on and roll–off docking stations.

U.S. Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen believes the roll-on roll-off docks will be an important part of the revitalization project.

“It’s a way to be able to move equipment that’s very hard to normally move and you just drive it on and off,” Jaenichen said. “It actually is a very functional system.”

Jaenichen noted the ability to load and unload quickly will reduce the amount of time ships are in port allowing them to move more freight and increase ship profitability.

This should increase the appeal of Duluth as a shipping center and bring larger amounts of freight through the area.

Revitalizing the docks is a project 26 years in the making.

Most of the funding comes from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant.

Getting that money took five tries.

“When you look at the fact that we tried five times—that meant a lot of phone calls and a lot of persistence,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “But just like the people in northern Minnesota, we never gave up.”

Construction is slated to be finished in the fall of 2016.