Already one of the nation’s fastest-growing container ports, the Port of Charleston, S.C., is poised to become even busier with the addition of the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal, a 280-acre, $762-million facility scheduled to begin operations in 2021. Located on the site of a decommissioned Naval installation in North Charleston, the terminal’s 1,400-ft wharf and five super post-Panamax class cranes will accommodate ships hauling up to 18,000 metal cargo containers, boosting Charleston’s cargo-handling capacity by 50% at full build-out.
Connecting the new port facility with its inland network of current and potential customers will be its literal and figurative “last mile”—a $220-million dedicated access road. Largely a 40-ft-high bridge structure that rises from the port entrance, the access road’s three-level interchange at Interstate 26 will also provide ramps improving access to neighboring commercial areas.