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project cost but it was self-? nanced and did not include any MARAD or similar kinds of public loans or grants.

Nor did it require any federal, state or local air, water or hazardous materials permits. There were no issues with storage tank removals or relocation. Old steel was recycled.

Hogan estimates the project required 150,000 lbs of new steel. When the project started the price of steel was rela- tively low. TPG decided to purchase all of the steel plate required at the start of the project, which turned out to be a smart move: Hogan said the price of steel rose during the entire 14 months of construction.

Open for Business

The newly con? gured dry dock opened for business in

September 2017. He’s con? dent the new asset will pay off for CDD.

Where navigable waters are concerned, the company is in an enviable spot, both for barges and equipment from the inland water ways and Great Lakes commerce. That expanse includes areas stretching from Lake Michigan, the

Calumet River and ship channel run south and west, join- ing the Des Plaines River, which joins the Kankakee River, which ? ows to the Illinois River, joining the Mississippi

River near Grafton, IL, just north of St. Louis, MO.

Jumbo barges at the Chicago-end of the inland water- ways system can now arrange service with CDD. Before that, those vessels, along with a tug and crew, would have to leave, again, likely heading south for service near St.

Louis. For traf? c from the Great Lakes side of CDD’s facil- ity; nearby service can have inherent advantages. Sturgeon

Bay is pleasant enough but it’s a long trip from Chicago.

Ed Robinson said CDD is “staying pretty busy with the new service. People are selecting to bring them (jumbo- barges) in.” He said if the company does a “dozen a year that’s a big plus for the industry, and for us.”

Robinson added that the third dry dock, even if it’s not in use for a jumbo-barge project, has served to augment and expand new service opportunities for CDD. The com- pany is newly starting to use the dry docks in tandem, each one augmenting the role and placement of the other. Rob- inson said these tandem projects have opened up new ? ex- ibilities for CDD’s work. In other words: an investment with a payoff greater than the sum of its individual parts.

That’s a good business outcome by any de? nition.

Tom Ewing is a freelance writer specializing in energy and environmental issues.

www.marinelink.com

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