Charleston port ends 2010 with 17% volume increase

Bolstered by 12-consecutive months of year-over-year container cargo growth, the Port of Charleston ended 2010 with an almost 17% increase in box volume, according to figures released Tuesday by the S.C. State Ports Authority.

Jim Newsome, the maritime agency’s president and CEO, said that while the upswing is expected to level, officials expect positive results to continue in 2011.

The SPA released the latest numbers during its monthly board meeting, during which leaders approved several expenditures.

More than $126,000 was set aside for additional study of an interchange modification agreement. The SPA and S.C. Department of Transportation need the agreement so an access road that will run from the authority’s under-construction terminal on the former North Charleston Navy Base will be able to tie into Interstate 26.

Engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff will conduct the study.

Other items received approval were an $876,000 addition to a paving contract at the Columbus Street Terminal and $152,000 for a fixed structure at the SPA’s passenger terminal that will connect a new passenger gangway to cruise ships.

The legislative port oversight commission, meanwhile, will meet on Wednesday in Columbia to discuss the ongoing debate over port deepening in Savannah and the future of the proposed Jasper Ocean Terminal.