Massman Completes Pin Oak Terminal Dock In Louisiana
Massman Construction Company, a heavy civil and marine contractor headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., recently completed the construction of a new dock facility for Pin Oak Terminal at Mile 144.1 of the Lower Mississippi River in Mt. Airy, La. The project included the construction of five over-the-river structures and is the first dock for the terminal.
Casey Hedge, marketing specialist at Massman, said the five structures were an electrical platform, firewater platform, dock house, dock and a hose tower. “We also constructed an elevated pipe rack that spans from the dock facility to the batture and across the levee and River Road, where it ties into the landside construction work,” said Hedge.
The new structures are founded on pipe piling that ranges from 12 to 36 inches in diameter, except for the electrical platform, and were created using jacketed bracing structures and prefabricated steel support decks. “These varied in size, with the heaviest piling weighing nearly 240,000 pounds,” said Hedge. “Additionally, 19 mooring structures were installed using monopiles ranging in size from 60 inches in diameter by 170 feet long to 96 inches in diameter by 210 feet long.”
Massman used both sizes of piling to protect the structures and for mooring the ships and barges during their loading or unloading process. Nine of the monopile dolphins include jackets that were welded to the pile after driving, said Hedge.
The new 900-foot dock is capable of loading industry-standard Suezmax vessels and has up to six barge berths. Hedge said the project includes storage of 10 million barrels of crude oil, refined products and chemicals on a 431-acre site.
The dock receives and ships petroleum liquid and chemicals by rail, pipeline, barge, ship and truck to and from domestic and export markets. Hedge said the dock’s designed flow rates are up to 30,000 barrels per hour, making Pin Oak Terminal’s dock one of the fastest docks in the country.
“The new dock can efficiently move heated and non-heated products, refined products, crude, chemicals and liquefied petroleum gas,” said Hedge. “The dock will ensure that Pin Oak Terminal remains a major transportation hub, with competitive advantages for many years to come.”
“Massman is a world-class organization, and its experience building ship docks on the Mississippi River is one of the main reasons we chose to partner with it,” said Mike Reed, CEO of Pin Oak, in a 2016 press release about the project. “Once the dock is fully constructed it will offer our customers a complete package that will ensure their product moves at high flow rates while maintaining safety and product integrity. We understand that our customers face high demurrage rates on the Gulf Coast and we want to ensure they can save money by storing product at our first-class facility.”
“We are very excited to secure this contract and work with Pin Oak and their team in helping bring this project to fruition,” said Paul Scharmer, vice president of operations for Massman. “It will be a big boost for the local economy and for our local workforce who live in the area.”
Hedge added that Pin Oak has a second dock that has been permitted for future construction.
110 Years In The Making
Massman Construction Company was founded in 1908 by Henry J. Massman, known in the construction industry as Harry Massman. After dropping out of school in the fifth grade, Massman went to work for his father in his brick manufacturing business. By age 17, he was working as a journeyman bricklayer in Shreveport, La.
Massman returned to Kansas City at age 20 and started a business with two partners dredging sand from the Missouri River. After a tough few years, the sand business became a success and was later sold. He then decided to capitalize on his knowledge of the river and founded Massman Construction Company.
Having spent the majority of its time on military-related projects during War World II, Massman returned to marine and heavy construction along the inland waterway system at its conclusion. During the 1950s, Massman completed more than 83 different dike and revetment projects for the Corps of Engineers on the Missouri River.
Massman also continued to work on lock and dam and powerhouse construction. The work on these types of massive projects took place throughout the central and eastern United States and continues today.
Entering its 110th year of operation this year, Massman is still a family-owned business known for its innovative approach in accomplishing difficult projects. Massman owns and operates a substantial inventory of marine equipment that its key personnel, many of which are long-term employees, use to perform a substantial amount of the contract work with its own forces.
