Winner, Award of Excellence
Port of New Orleans
Erato Street Cruise Terminal Complex
The project consists of a four level, 1,000-car parking structure situated over a two-level cruise ship terminal. The terminal portion of the project was necessary to increase the capacity of the Port to handle more and larger ships operated by cruise lines calling on New Orleans. Previously cars were being routed to off-site facilities for long term parking.
The project was noteworthy in that it took an underutilized location site in a strategic location and despite its narrow footprint efficiently accommodated multiple functions on limited space. The construction sequence, design and material selection were all influenced by the limited access and staging area available during construction. The opening of the terminal has increased levels of customer service by eliminating the need for bus shuttles from remote sites, reducing parking lines and speeding the processing of passengers while in terminal. In the post-Katrina New Orleans the project has facilitated the return of tourist traffic to the downtown area.
Honorable Mention
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Staten Island Railroad: Chemical Coast Line Connector
This project involved the construction of approximately 3,900 linear feet of a new freight rail connection, to be used with a recently rehabilitated lift bridge, to link the Staten Island Railroad to Conrail's Chemical Coast Line in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The new connection provides a link to inland markets and replaces a previous connection that ran through highly populated residential areas and had several problematic at-grade road crossings.
