McCarthy Completes Barbours Cut Terminal Container Yard 3N

The Barbours Cut Terminal Container Yard 3N adds about ten acres of new new shipping container storage at the terminal complex. Photo courtesy of McCarthy Building Companies.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., the oldest privately held national construction company in the U.S., has completed construction on the Barbours Cut Terminal Container Yard 3N for the Port of Houston Authority ("PHA"). The project is part of a modernization program to increase cargo handling efficiency. The Barbours Cut Terminal Container Yard 3N adds approximately 10 acres of new shipping container storage at the terminal complex.

McCarthy was tasked with a rehabilitation of the existing site which included new utility upgrades, new high-mast light poles and a realignment of the main interterminal access road through this area. Work began in June 2021 and achieved substantial completion two months ahead of schedule. The project is adjacent to the recently completed Container Yard 1N/2N project at the Barbours Cut Terminal, also done by McCarthy.

“McCarthy has been working with the Port Houston Authority for more than 25 years, and we were honored to once again work together as they move to modernize the port to meet growing demand,” said Fitz O’Donnell, vice president marine/industrial for McCarthy Southern Region. “McCarthy has a wealth of experience in both over-water and land-side port work, and our ability to self-perform work allows us to provide top-level results for our clients.” 

The container yard required 47,000 square yards of pavement demolition. The project involved bringing in 23,500 cubic yards of concrete pavement and 32,000 cubic yards of base and subbase materials. Over 5,000 linear feet of utilities were installed, including 1,800 linear feet of ductile iron water lines, 1,800 linear feet of precast trench drains, 950 liner feet of cast-in-place electrical duct banks, and 450 linear feet of pressurized sanitary sewer lines.

Despite achieving completion ahead of schedule, McCarthy faced multiple challenges along with way, including global supply chain issues that drastically altered lead time for some items, including metals, plastics, and trucking. McCarthy worked to continue progress with minimal disruption to Port Houston and their facilities. Through coordination and a partnership with subcontractors and the port construction management team, McCarthy coordinated multiple crews across various trades, and implemented a weather management plan to minimize impacts from Houston weather events. McCarthy also continued their commitment to safety on this project, with over 32,000 total project manhours onsite and zero recordables or lost-time incidents.

McCarthy has worked at various ports along the Gulf Coast for approximately 30 years. McCarthy’s experience in marine construction spans a diverse array of project types including petrochemical liquid terminal facilities, bulk cargo handling terminals, to deep water container terminal ship docks. McCarthy undertakes complex projects for public clients such as Port Beaumont, Port Freeport and Port Houston, private mid-stream clients and is partner of choice for EPC firms servicing oil and gas and petrochemical clients. In past 15 years, McCarthy has completed over half a billion dollars’ worth of work in Port Houston alone.