State harbor grant funds Superior dock project

The State of Wisconsin recently awarded Superior a $4,744,000 grant to stabilize the General Mills dock in Superior.

The 80-year-old timber crib bulkhead wall, which defines the slip for ships loading grain at the dock, has deteriorated to the extent that the dock surface is moving into the slip, causing significant risk to building foundations.

The grant from Wisconsin’s Harbor Assistance Program will help install steel sheet piling and tiebacks to replace the base of the wall. The project will allow General Mills to continue shipping wheat by water. According to the state, without the facility, 8 million bushels of grain would likely bypass the city annually. General Mills employs 31 workers at the dock.

The Superior grant was one of three totaling nearly $7 million announced last week. Sheboygan County will receive $1.5 million to help dredge and dispose of contaminated sediments in the Sheboygan River and Harbor.

Noble Petro Inc. of Green Bay will receive $720,000 to Noble Petro to install a vapor combustor unit at its barge dock facilities in Green Bay. The unit will allow loading and unloading of gasoline barges. The project is one of a number of improvements Noble Petro is undertaking to be able to handle export more than 30 million gallons of petroleum products each year.

For each project, the Harbor Assistance Program provides 80 percent of the needed funds. Grant recipients provide a 20 percent match.

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