Jun. 8—SUPERIOR — Construction is expected to get underway on the new $22 million C. Reiss Terminal in Superior this summer.
The City Council approved grant, lease and development agreements related to the project and approved a contract with Northland Constructors of Duluth in the amount of $21,849,000 for the project.
The city's involvement is required because of grants awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the federal Maritime Administration, according to Jason Serck, economic development, port and planning director. However, funding for the project that exceeds the $11,386,000 in grants awarded for the project will be paid by the company, he said.
"We've been working on this for almost the last five years," Serck said. "We're at Stage 9 of a concurrence process with the U.S. Department of Transportation ... We're hoping to get started next month."
With the council's approval Tuesday, June 6, Serck said the documents will be signed and sent to the Maritime Administration for final signatures before the project gets underway, hopefully in July.
Currently located in Duluth on the St. Louis River, Serck said the company was having issues with water levels and faced the potential of losing dredging depth, prompting the company to hire a consultant to move its facility to property it owned in Superior.
The project will revitalize and modernize a dock that has been dormant for about 30 years on the west side of the city. It's located between Midwest Energy and Hallett Dock on the waterfront in the Winter Street Industrial Park. The site previously served as a coal dock and the dock where cars were brought in from Canada, Serck said.
Plans for the site include dock wall repair and replacement; dredging; new rail service, roads, electrical and other utilities; installing truck and rail scales and conveyors; and building an office, repair shop and storage facility on the site to handle bulk coal, limestone, petroleum coke and salt.
The company currently handles about 650,000 tons of material shipped out of Duluth, which could increase with the new facility, Serck said.
"Dock wall work is a huge component of this," Serck said. "Over a half a mile of dock wall is going to be done, and as you know, we have a corrosion issue, so there will be coating."
Dredging will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and includes environmental dredging to remove contaminated material in conjunction with the Great Lakes Legacy Act to address the St. Louis River area of concern.