The Port of Longview is a deep-water

port authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority_for_a_special-purpose_district.html" ;"title="110. - 6910./ref> is a type of Nonprofit organization">nonprof ...

located in Longview, on the

Columbia River The Columbia River ( Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia ...

in southwest

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It was established in 1921 by Washington state law, and operates as a unit of local government. The port is overseen by a locally elected, three-member board of commissioners. Each commissioner is elected for a six-year term and is directly responsible to the voters for port operations. The Port manages and operates a marine terminal complex where domestic and international

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s and

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

s arrive and depart, and bulk, break bulk and project cargos are loaded or unloaded by local

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

workers. Union workers operate lifting and moving equipment including

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname ...

forklifts A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various ...

and

reach stacker A reach stacker is a vehicle used for handling intermodal cargo containers in small terminals or medium-sized ports. Reach stackers are able to transport a container short distances very quickly and pile them in various rows depending on its acce ...

s. These workers belong to the

International Longshore and Warehouse Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 West ...

Local 21. Transportation routes connecting to the Port include the

shipping channel, the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

and

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

railroads, and north–south

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

, the main highway running from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The Port also leases industrial land and contributes financially towards recreational projects in Cowlitz County.

Mission

To promote commerce and economic development through strategic public investments for the benefit of our communities.

Location

The Port of Longview is located 66 river miles inland from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

on the deep-draft

shipping channel. It is approximately 120 driving miles from

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

and 40 miles from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. The Port district occupies the northern two-thirds of Cowlitz County, from just north of

Kalama, Washington Kalama (kaw-law-maw) is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,959 as of the 2020 census. Etymology James W. Phillips' ''Washington State P ...

to the Lewis County line.

Transportation

Rail

The

and

railroad main lines run parallel to

approximately five miles from the Port. The Longview Switching Company switches trains from the railroad main lines into the Port. From there, Port locomotives move trains and rail cars to the marine terminals and industrial locations.

Highway

The Port is located approximately three miles from north-south Interstate 5, the main roadway stretching from

Facilities

Facilities include eight marine terminals (docks), covered and uncovered warehouses, and open storage areas for temporary storage of cargo prior to loading on trucks, specialized trailers or rail cars. *Bridgeview Terminal (Berth 1 & 2) – export bulk facility for agri-products, chemical, and minerals *Berth 4 – bulk loading terminal available for redevelopment *Berth 5 – Petroleum coke export facility operated by the Port for BP *Berth 6 – general cargo berth handling steel, wind energy, forest products and project cargo *Berth 7 – general cargo, barge loading and import bulk terminal *Berth 8 – multi-purpose dock handling general cargo, project cargo, forest products and steel *Berth 9 – bulk export facility, Export Grain Terminal

Types of cargo

*Dry Bulk:

petroleum coke Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a final crack ...

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

soda ash Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...

, soya meal,

talc Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent a ...

bentonite clay Bentonite () is an absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelling capacity than Ca-mon ...

, other *Break bulk:

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

, logs *Project:

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

components (towers, blades, nacelles), electrical generators, oversize components for industrial and manufacturing applications

History

In 1911, the state of Washington enacted laws allowing people to establish port districts and elect commissioners to administer those districts and oversee their development and operation. In 1921, the Port of Longview was established by a vote of the people residing within the local port district boundary (northern two-thirds of Cowlitz County, from just north of Kalama to the Lewis County line). Originally established as the Port of Kelso, the Port was later changed by a vote of the people, to the Port of Longview, because a state law required ports to be named after the largest city within the district. Original cargo activity consisted of forest products (logs and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

) exports to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. These exports began to decrease in the 1980s, and today are no longer handled by the Port. To replace log cargos, the Port now handles steel, bulk and project cargos.

Commissioners and managers

Commissioners

*T. D. Dungan - 1921-24Cowlitz County Historical Museum
*D. M. Atkins - 1921-24 *Elias Holbrook - 1921-24 *R. H. Barr - 1925-33 *Andrew Schwarz - 1924-24 *E. W. Ross - 1924-24 *Frank Dallam, Jr. - 1934-35 *Jess Schwarz - 1925-26 *Charles H. Olson - 1925-30 *W. C. Nikolaus - 1935-40 *J. Perry Burcham - 1927-32 *Luke L. Goodrich - 1930-50 *Walter S. Talbott - 1940-42 *A. A. Byrnes - 1933-40 *M. R. Couch - 1950-53 *N. F. Anderson - 1942-44 *George H. Umbaugh - 1940-69 *H. I. Quigley - 1953-69 *Roy Taylor - 1944-55 *James S. Baker - 1969-75 *Ralph G. Nolte - 1969-89 *William Graham - 1955-62 *Roy G. Dennis - 1976-81 *M. E. Norman - 1962-73 *Floyd V. Carpenter - 1982-87 *Richard F. Olson - 74-78 *Jerry Nestaval - 1988-93 *Larry M. Larson - 1978-2007 *J. Walter Barham - 1990-07 *Daniel J. Buell - 1994-2011 *Roger Allen - 2007-2007 *Darold Dietz - 2007-2015 *Bob Bagaason - 2007–2018 *Lou Johnson - 2012-2015 *Doug Averett - 2015–present * Jeff Wilson - 2016–present *Allan Erickson - 2018–present

Managers

*H. L. Tabke - 1925-27 *Frank Gowdy - 1927-43 *Harvey Hart - 1943-73 *Bob McNannay - 1973-86 *Brian Fladager - 1986-87 *Ken O'Hollaren - 1988-2012 *Geir-Eilif Kalhagen - 2012-2016 *Norman G. Krehbiel - 2016 - 2020 *Dan Stahl - 2020 interim

Gallery

Image:portoflongview_project3.jpg, Project cargo is loaded onto a trailer by a reach stacker Image:portoflongview_steel.JPG, Labor union workers unload structural steel from the hold of a ship Image:portoflongview_project2.JPG, Project cargo unloading direct to rail car using ship's crane Image:portoflongview_bulk.JPG, Bulk cargo unloading using clam shell bucket and forklift

References

External links

Port of Longview
(official website)
Washington Public Ports Association
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Longview, Port of Ports and harbors of Washington (state) Longview, Washington