Hdr News

As the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern, reliable, efficient inland waterways and ports system, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) continually seeks ways to improve the delivery of inland waterways navigation projects managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. And while more than $6 billion has been delivered over the past decade for construction and major rehabilitation for the inland waterways, with WCI securing $2.5 billion above the budget requests and $3 billion in supplemental funding since 2016, project delivery remains bottlenecked, delayed, and inefficient.

As Americans do each year, with 2026 just the same, we are hopeful for a more promising year, with better outcomes and calmer seas. But for construction of the Nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, there is a strong sense of urgency like never before.Since 1987, just 10 projects to modernize or expand locks on the inland waterways system have been completed, with seven of them started and finished between 1987 and 1997 at an average cost overrun of 33%.Since 2008, only two lock modernization projects have been completed.

Waterways Council, Inc. released a study by HDR, Inc. (Recommendations for Improving the Delivery of Inland Waterway Capital Projects and accompanying infographic) that examines why costs for U.S. inland waterways capital projects (locks and dams) escalate, timelines for completion continue to slip, and economic benefits to the Nation from projects’ execution are consistently delayed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission is responsible for constructing the Nation’s inland waterways infrastructure.

Hardik Gajjar, ENV SP, has joined HDR as maritime planning lead for the firm’s growing ports and maritime practice. Based in New Jersey, Gajjar will leverage his experience in maritime and intermodal planning to support port owners and operators around the globe as they pursue more efficient operations and smart infrastructure development.“It’s an honor to join one of the best ports and maritime firms in the industry,” Gajjar said. “I’m looking forward to leveraging HDR’s outstanding cross-sector collaboration to help clients as they assess the impact of emerging trends such as automation…

Blair Garcia, a longtime leader in the maritime industry, has joined HDR as the global maritime director. He will build on the firm’s strong foundation of maritime and coastal engineers, scientists and experts, while adding new services and geographies to drive HDR’s continued growth in this global market.Garcia has spent three decades in the ports and maritime industry, helping port and intermodal rail clients on six continents and at most of the deep-water ports in the U.S.

Siemens is bringing immersive visualization powered by new NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud APIs to the Siemens Xcelerator platform, driving increased use of AI-driven digital twin technology and creating an industrial metaverse.“We will revolutionize how products and experiences are designed, manufactured and serviced. On the path to the industrial metaverse, this next generation of industrial software enables customers to experience products as they would in the real world: in context…

Like many ports, the Alaskan Port of Homer faces aging infrastructure and capital needs well beyond the local funding capacity. The port is a key link in the supply chain for 47 remote, rural, disadvantaged or Alaska Native communities served by Homer, making proposed port infrastructure upgrades critical for shipping statewide as well as for the local community.Enter the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This unprecedented…

Eric Venable recently joined HDR as the new federal transportation director.HDR has a long history of providing key transportation expertise to the federal government, whether federal highways, coastal ports, defense installations or more.Venable brings more than 25 years of experience in operations, finance, strategic marketing, business expansion, client and subcontractor relations, and contract negotiations for federal, public, and private maritime and industrial clients. He most recently served as the director of ports and maritime for another firm…

South Carolina (SC) Ports has celebrated the structural completion of the operations building at Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal, a new container terminal along the Cooper River, which will open in March 2021.S.C. Ports celebrated today the structural completion of the terminal’s new operations building. More than 300 people — contractors, port employees, elected leaders and community members — cheered as a steel beam and tree were placed atop the steel structure as part of a traditional “topping out” ceremony.The 34,853-square-foot building, built by Samet Corp., will have offices, meeting spaces, crane operator rest and training areas, and a full-service kitchen, as well as the backup power required to maintain critical infrastructure in the event of a power outage.Sen. Hugh K.

The Port of Long Beach, one of the greenest ports in the world, has selected HDR to perform the final design as it moves ahead with its $870 million effort to streamline rail operations and reduce bottlenecks at the second-busiest container port in the U.S.The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Project will expand the port’s capability for loading shipping containers directly on rail cars instead of being loaded on trucks for short-haul trips. The expansion and reconfiguration of the existing Pier B railyard will create a staging area for loading freight trains nearly 2 miles long…

UTEC has delivered a bespoke Virtual Asset Management tool to an offshore Operator in Eastern Canada to allow its team to remotely access its floating, production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) from their desktop. The field, located offshore approximately 350 kilometers southeast of Newfoundland and Labrador contains one of the largest FPSO vessels ever built. At approximately the size of three football fields laid end to end the FPSO is over 290 meters long, more than 40 meters wide and more than 18 stories high. UTEC’s iSite tool is a web-based system which provides the Operators supply chain with the ability to tour the FPSO with 360° visualization…

The Port of Houston Authority is expecting 2014 to close as a banner year for the port, with 34 million tons of cargo handled through November, Executive Director Roger Guenther reported to the port commission of the Port of Houston Authority at its monthly meeting Tuesday. "Container volumes are on pace for a record year, and steel imports are set to surpass the previous tonnage highs set in 2008," Guenther said, adding that cargo operations for November reflect a 15 percent increase in container TEUs and an 82 percent growth in steel imports, year over year.

Bryan N. Jones has joined HDR in Boston as a senior project manager for the Ports & Maritime group, a growing team of HDR marine specialists in the Northeast to support an increasing number of assignments following Super Storm Sandy. He will also focus on business development with key ports clients and marine terminals to continue expanding HDR’s presence in New England. Prior to joining HDR, Jones was chief project manager and regional director of the Massachusetts branch office of Ocean and Coastal Consultants.

On July 29 the Port of Vancouver USA began phase two construction of one of the most innovative projects in its 100-year-history, the construction of a piling-supported, watertight trench that will support a new grade separated rail entrance into the port. Considered the crown jewel of the West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project, the new entrance will eliminate a chokepoint on the regional rail system and reduce congestion by as much as 40%. The $38 million project, which is being built in four phases, is expected to be complete in 2015.

Inmarsat signs contracts with initial land satellite terminal manufacturing partners for its forthcoming Global Xpress® service. Cobham Satcom, Paradigm Comm and Skyware Global will manufacture 0.6 to 2.4 metre aperture terminals to deliver up to 50Mbps downlink speeds. The range will cover fixed, transportable, 'fly-away' and 'manpack' terminal types. The terminals have been specifically designed for operation in the Ka-band and will utilise a new core module developed by VT iDirect to provide state-of-the-art capabilities. Scheduled for service introduction in 2014, Global Xpress will offer unprecedented high data rate (HDR) bandwidth and global coverage.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has hired HDR to rehabilitate the Greenville Yard in Greenville, N.J., to improve ongoing rail-to-barge-to-rail freight movements across New York Harbor. The work includes rehabilitating a barge and transfer bridge used to move freight rail cars from the yard to the barges, designing a new barge and two new bridges, demolishing two bridges, rehabilitating the rail yard and waterfront structures, and environmental permitting. The project also includes the addition of approximately 10,000 feet of new track and design of yard operations facilities. This project is among improvements to accommodate the larger Panamax freighters that will be in operation with the Panama Canal expansion…

This and recent agreements with Port of Miami and Port of Palm Beach solidify Florida Inland Port’s position as the premier inland port / integrated logistics center serving the southeastern U.S. Florida Inland Port today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that creates a strategic alliance with the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT). The alliance between one of Florida’s largest seaports and the state’s first rail-oriented, integrated logistics center helps to pave the way for improved flow of goods throughout Florida and the Southeast United States. Similar to the recent agreements with the Port of Miami and the Port of Palm Beach…

HDR, an architecture-engineering-consulting firm, has acquired Shiner Moseley and Associates, Inc., an engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Going forward, Shiner Moseley will conduct business as HDR/Shiner Moseley and Associates. Shiner Moseley specializes in port/marine and coastal planning, engineering and permitting, in addition to civil, structural and environmental services.

Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with SeaAmerica Cruise Lines, Inc., based in Hollywood, Fla. Under the MOA, LSS and SeaAmerica will develop a ship design leading to contract negotiations for the construction of two 42,000-ton, 1,000-passenger cruise ships. The program will include options for two additional ships. Construction of the ships would utilize both of Litton Ship Systems' production facilities, Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula and Litton Avondale Industries in New Orleans, and would maximize the resources and experience of both shipyards to achieve operating synergies. Accommodations will include 87 percent outside cabins (most with private balconies)…

Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) has awarded Anteon a five-year contract valued at $23.6 million. Under this contract, Anteon will provide systems engineering and development support for NUWC's Communications and Electronic Support Measures Programs. The work will be performed in Newport, R.I., and Mystic, Conn. The NUWC provides the technical foundation for the conceptualization, research and development, modernization and maintenance of U.S. Navy undersea systems. Specific programs to be supported under this contract include the Common Submarine Radio Room, Submarine Satellite Communications Program, High Data Rate (HDR) Submarine Antenna, Multi-Function Mast Antenna and the Extremely Low Frequency Program. Joseph M.