Demolition To Begin On Site Of Future Indiana Port

Tanners Creek Development LLC is asking the Louisville Engineer District to allow the temporary mooring of a deck barge and clamshell loader in connection with ongoing demolition work at the former Tanners Creek Generating Station at Mile 495 of the Ohio River at Lawrenceburg, Ind.
Tanners Creek Development LLC is an affiliate of Commercial Development Company Inc. (CDC), a leading North American commercial real estate and brownfield redevelopment company that is under contract to transfer ownership of the property to the Ports of Indiana, with an anticipated closing of December 2018.

The company wants permissions to moor a 50- by 110-foot deck barge with a clamshell loader, along with a 35- by 195-foot scrap barge, to existing mooring cells at the former plant’s site. Two 18-inch diameter steel spud spar poles would be attached to the deck barge to reinforce mooring stability.
The applicant also proposes to demolish two existing screen houses to an elevation of 478 feet, cap them, construct access ramps to each via the placement of about 1,352 cubic yards of stone riprap within the Ohio River, and repurpose the screenhouses as converted barge loading/unloading platforms.
Once these actions are completed, the two barges would be moved to one of three possible locations to load and unload demolished material from the former plant, as well as imported soil and rock.

An elevated conveyor system would be installed above the ordinary high-water mark to facilitate barge loading and unloading. The maximum number of barges moored at any one time would be four.

The sale of the closed Tanner’s Creek plant to the Ports of Indiana was announced by Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb last September.

The Ports of Indiana has identified the approximately 725-acre property as a favorable location for the development of the state’s fourth port. This purchase agreement allows for a due diligence period for the Ports of Indiana to study the site to determine the environmental and economic viability of this project.
Ports of Indiana currently has three state ports in operation on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. Adding a fourth port is expected to generate new jobs and new development opportunities.

The inception of this vision is credited to former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence who, during Indiana’s 2016 State of the State address, urged the Ports of Indiana to “vigorously explore the building of a fourth port in the far southeastern part of our state, which could unleash enormous economic investment throughout the southeast region of our state.”