Pier S, a largely undeveloped 150-acre pier on Terminal Island. Photo by Stephanie Rivera.
The Port of Long Beach (POLB) will begin asking for input on how to best use a largely undeveloped 150-acre pier on Terminal Island from industry members, environmental groups and the community, port officials recently announced.
About 30 acres of the property, known as Pier S, is being used as a storage facility for loaded cargo containers and chassis—in order to help terminals deal with a rising flow of cargo, according to a press release from the port.
The temporary depot originally opened on Pier S on December 2014 to store empty cargo containers and free up truck chassis needed to haul containers out of congested terminals at the time, the release added.
The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved a six-month extension for the facility before it was due to close on March 31, 2015, according to officials.
Currently, there are no specific proposals on how to use Pier S, but port and industry stakeholders who are part of the port’s Supply Chain Optimization effort may give suggestions to help make cargo flow more efficient, port spokesman Lee Peterson said.
A full environmental review will have to be done for any proposal, according to the release.
“The success of the Pier S demonstration project has encouraged us to consider a more expansive use of the property to build on what [we] learned about the efficiency of near-dock operations,” said Port CEO Jon Slangerup in a statement. “The closing of the temporary depot on Pier S gives the Port an opportunity to study a more permanent use for the site, one that will mesh with our ongoing supply chain optimization effort.”
Port staff will prepare a recommendation on the study process for the Harbor Commission in the near future.
Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals has been operating the temporary depot, and has been praised by port officials as an “effective small-scale demonstration of how a near-dock container yard can be used to move cargo more efficiently.”