Revisions to the master blueprint address an array of issues at the transportation and manufacturing complex in Catoosa.

CATOOSA -- An updated master plan for the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, unveiled Thursday, addresses future issues with truck, rail and barge traffic, security and nearby commercial development.

Still in draft form, the plan will be the subject of a public hearing this year before the Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority. No date has been set.

The port hosts about 50 businesses employing more than 2,000 people, but its master plan has not been amended since 1996. The draft update was done with help from PSA-Dewberry Inc.

"The current plan is good. But the plan before you will help meet the changes we've seen at our facility, and with society as a whole," deputy director Dick Voth told the port's board of directors Thursday.

A major focus in the revised plan is developing a terminal for container-on-barge shipments -- an emerging area for the U.S. shipping industry.

Currently, commodities transported by barge tend to be low-value, bulk goods. But the use of multiple-container barges -- capable of carrying large numbers of containers and being loaded and unloaded quickly at port -- has the potential to change the dynamics of barge transport.

Container-on-barge is also gaining popularity because of rising fuel costs, shortages of truck drivers and congestion on highways and at sea ports.

Voth said there is room for more barge traffic on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which feeds the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.

Each barge entering the port would carry 50 standard-size containers, and a typical tow would include eight barges, potentially taking 400 trucks off the roads.

The port's existing dock and 200-ton crane, and other areas at the facility could handle a small number of containers. But a large increase in container shipping would require special facilities, Voth said.

The tonnage handled by the Tulsa Port of Catoosa could increase by 20 percent or more with the dawn of container-on-barge shipping, Voth said.

"The hurdle has always been . . . that barges move slower than truck and rail," Voth said. But he added that improved barge operations and lower transportation costs are beginning to offset the advantages of rail and freight.

Some 35 acres at the port will be preserved for a container-on-barge terminal along West Channel Road, northwest of the main wharf. The master plan also preserves property on the west side of 193rd East Avenue, just outside the port's main entrance, for commercial development to serve the port's companies. The possibilities include banks, dry cleaning and restaurants.

A truck-staging area is planned on the port's north side to address security issues, Voth said. Instead of entering the port and going directly to a destination, trucks would be held at the staging area until they're needed at the terminal.

A barge fleeting area, just south of the current turning basin, is planned to increase safety around the port. Additionally, port officials plan to extend rail service in a loop around the east side of the channel and in the receiving yards to handle expected growth areas and accommodate multiple-car shuttle trains.

John Dobberstein 581-8413
john.dobberstein@tulsaworld.com

Port shipping at record pace

Shipping at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa could hit record levels this year if the current pace is maintained, officials said Thursday.

"This has been the best seven-month, year-to-date period in the 35-year history of the port," said Steve Kissee, chairman of the Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority. "If this rate continues, we might have a record year."

The single-year record at the port was in 1998, with 2.4 million tons transported. Through July, the port has handled 1.4 million tons of goods.

In July, 188,000 tons of cargo was shipped in 109 barges to or from the port, up 40 percent from July 2005. July's tonnage was still 16 percent less than last June's haul of 224,000 tons, a record for any month.

Outbound shipments in July came to 108,000 tons in 57 barges, up 27 percent from the same month last year. July's inbound total was 80,000 tons on 52 barges, a 63 percent increase over July 2005.

A total of 1.1 million tons of cargo was shipped on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System during July, up slightly from June. About 16 percent of July's tonnage on the system passed through Tulsa.