Students visit Port of Houston’s
Bayport wharf expansion project

Texas A&M construction science students in Julian Kang’s Industrial Capstone Course journeyed to Seabrook, Texas March 25 to visit the site of a massive wharf expansion at the Port of Houston’s Bayport Terminal Complex.

“I have asked students to come up with a construction method, sequence, schedule and cost estimate for the wharf expansion project,” said Kang.

Five teams of four students each are using the trip as well as class visits by representatives of the project’s construction contractor, McCarthy, to help them create their plans.

The firm, a member of the Department of Construction Science’s Construction Industry Advisory Council, has 10 offices spread through the country and is the oldest privately-owned construction firm in the nation.

McCarthy’s Jerry Mayer, project director, Bob Rogers, onsite project director, Alejandro Orozco, project engineer, and Rick Bereman, project superintendent, walked with the students through the project site.

The Bayport complex, approximately 30 miles southeast of downtown Houston, is one of three facilities operated by the Port of Houston that serves as a destination point for cargo from around the world.

During the tour, students asked Mayer and Rogers about the project schedule, bidding process, and measures the company took to address concerns from a neighborhood directly across the channel from the construction site.

At the end of the semester, the student teams presented their projects to senior-level managers at McCarthy’s regional office in Dallas.

See a video of the students’ visit on YouTube:

- Posted: May 4, 2009-