Army Corps grants permit for Louisiana's new deepwater container port

Overview

Updated Aug 26

The biggest container ships in the world cannot reach the Port of New Orleans; the Crescent City Connection bridge is too low for vessels hauling 24,000 boxes. The answer is a brand-new port built 17 miles downriver where they can dock, and this week it cleared its biggest hurdle.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the federal permit for the Louisiana International Terminal, ending more than four years of review. The $2.6 billion project is the nation's only greenfield container port under development. Roughly half its funding, a $1 billion access highway, and three local lawsuits still stand in the way.

Why it matters

If LIT opens, the largest container ships can serve Louisiana directly, rerouting Gulf Coast trade and supply chains that today move through other ports.

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Key Indicators

$2.6B

Estimated construction cost

Latest estimate, about 45% above the original $1.8 billion price tag.

24,000

Containers per ultra-large vessel

Ships this large cannot pass under the Crescent City Connection bridge.

62,850

Container yard capacity

Boxes the terminal's 600-acre site can hold at once, with 3,600 feet of wharf.

342,000

American jobs supported by Port NOLA

Cargo activity already supports over 122,000 jobs in Louisiana alone.

$101B

Annual economic value supported

Port NOLA cargo activity's nationwide economic impact before LIT opens.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Fred Everhardt

Chairperson, St. Bernard Parish Council

Opposing the project; three state-court lawsuits pending

Organizations Involved

Port NOLA

Public port authority

Project lead and public partner in the LIT venture

Public agency that operates the Port of New Orleans and leads the LIT public-private partnership.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Federal agency

Granted the construction permit after four-plus years of review

Federal agency whose permits govern construction in U.S. waters and wetlands.

Terminal Investment Limited (TiL)

Port terminal operator

Private partner and prospective terminal operator

Terminal operating arm of Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's largest container line.

Ports America

Port terminal operator

Private partner and prospective terminal operator

Largest U.S. marine terminal operator, handling container, breakbulk, and auto cargo.

Timeline

June 2022 December 2031

5 events Latest: August 25th, 2026 · 3 weeks ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

December 2031
Target opening
Upcoming Projection

Five-year build could open the terminal's first berth by late 2031.
December 31st, 2031
October 2026
Site work expected this fall
Upcoming Construction

Access roads, ground clearing, and soil preparation could begin at Violet.
October 1st, 2026
August 2026
USACE grants federal permit
Latest Regulatory

Army Corps authorizes LIT construction, clearing the project's biggest regulatory hurdle.
August 25th, 2026
June 2024
Funding package firming up
Funding

Project website lists $800M from private partners and more than $500M in public money.
June 1st, 2024
June 2022
Permit application filed
Regulatory

Port NOLA files LIT construction permits with USACE; federal review begins.
June 1st, 2022

Scenarios

LIT opens its first berth by late 2031

Possible Resolves by End of 2031

Discussed by: Port NOLA officials; nola.com reporting

Groundbreaking follows the permit, the five-year build holds, and the school relocation and highway corridor get worked out. The first commercial container vessel docks at Violet in late 2031, consistent with Port NOLA's stated five-year schedule.

Louisiana courts halt or stall the project

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: St. Bernard Parish Council Chair Fred Everhardt; local opposition groups

Three suits are in state court: one over the elementary school site, one over environmental impact, and one over whether Port NOLA can build in another parish. A ruling against the port on any of them could delay or kill the terminal, though the federal permit and state backing give the port strong leverage.

Funding gap delays groundbreaking past 2027

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: nola.com financing analysis

The port is short at least half of the $2.6 billion cost. It plans to close the gap with bonds and federal loans, but if underwriting or rates fail, the start date slips. Preliminary site work could begin fall 2026 regardless, while major construction waits on the financing package.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 2016

Panama Canal expansion (2016)

The canal opened a third set of locks, allowing neopanamax ships of roughly 14,000 containers to cross between the Pacific and Atlantic. That made very large vessels viable on U.S. Gulf and East Coast routes for the first time.

Then

East and Gulf Coast ports rushed to deepen channels and buy bigger cranes; Savannah, Charleston, and New York-New Jersey led the wave.

Now

Ship sizes kept growing past what many fixed bridges and channels could handle, forcing ports to choose between raising bridges or building downriver.

Why this matters now

The same escalation made the Crescent City Connection too low for modern ships, driving the decision to build LIT downriver at Violet rather than try to widen the existing harbor.

2017-2019

Bayonne Bridge raising (2019)

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey lifted the Bayonne Bridge's roadway from 151 feet to 215 feet, at a cost near $1.7 billion, so post-Panamax container ships could reach the ports of Newark and Elizabeth. The bridge had capped the size of vessels the region's terminals could serve.

Then

New York-area terminals kept handling the largest ships transiting the expanded Panama Canal, protecting their share of East Coast cargo.

Now

The $1.7 billion job became the standard fix for low bridges at container ports, and a measure of how expensive that fix is.

Why this matters now

LIT faces the same height problem on the Mississippi, where the Crescent City Connection cannot be raised affordably. Building an entirely new port below the bridge is the alternative path.