New Bronx Blue Highway project unveiled

Photo: NYCEDC

Set to start operating this year, a Blue Highway project in the Bronx, N.Y., will initially remove 1,000 truck trips a month off highways and onto the water.

Details of the plan were announced by New York City Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrion Jr., the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and Con Agg Global (CAG), which is to open a new waterside transloading facility adjacent to the Fulton Fish Market hub in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, one of New York State’s busiest trucking destinations.

Plans are for this initial facility to be replaced by a permanent facility, which will be seeking final sourcing and additional approvals—including from the New York City Council—that will primarily be used for the waterborne movement of wholesale food and beverage and will provide significantly enhanced capabilities.

This permanent design would accommodate several other vertical commodity streams such as micro-freight—heavy duty cargo trikes and quads paired with small barges and freight ferries—as well as bulk—such as aggregate, both of which help mitigate roadway congestion in and out of the Hunts Point peninsula.

The permanent Con Agg Global facility would feature an inland standard barge with modular pier design that will allow for rapid deployment, high capacity, and flexibility to adjust the design and layout based on evolving market demands for freight.

The design is commonly deployed in Europe and was used during construction projects at Governors Island and JFK Airport. The facility will primarily transport wholesale food and beverage via barge and freight ferry.

This will allow for reduced daily truck trips to and from the South Bronx, and throughout New York City, increasing moving goods via barge and fast boat from Hunts Point to other New York City terminals, like the Downtown Skyport.

The project is supported financially in conjunction with Con Agg Global’s equity shareholder BDT & MSD Partners. Con Agg Global has expanded the partnership group to include William (Bill) J. Sandbrook, providing it with significant management expertise, decades of experience, and substantial capital to expand operations in the future.

“For hundreds of years, New York City’s waterways have connected communities, carried vital goods, and powered our economy. With our “Blue Highways” initiative, we are writing the next chapter of these historic rivers and setting our city up for the future,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This new facility will help support those efforts, moving more freight off our roads and onto our rivers. From good-paying jobs to fewer emissions, this facility will help build a stronger, more sustainable New York City, not only later this year, but for decades to come.”

“The Adams administration is continuing to leverage our city’s waterways, facilitate investment, and advance a high-impact Blue Highway network to move goods and get trucks off the road,” said Deputy Mayor Carrión. “NYCEDC and Con Agg’s facility represents an important first step, which we will build on at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, Downtown Skyport, and other locations to serve Hunts Point, eliminate thousands of trucks from the South Bronx, and keep New York City’s supply chain and economy resilient.”

By utilizing marine transportation, the facility will greatly reduce the need for trucks for material and food & beverage transportation to and from the Bronx in an environmental justice area. Removing trucks from the road will greatly reduce traffic congestion in the local community and the Greater New York region, along with fuel consumption and regional greenhouse gas emissions.

NYCEDC says that the projecy builds on the Adams administration’s broader strategy to develop the Harbor of the Future—a reimagined, East River-connected network of innovation and growth. The Harbor of the Future includes emerging innovation centers at the Hunts Point Produce Market, Governors Island, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a modern all-electric port at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and a redeveloped Downtown Skyport including a Blue Highway barge landing. The Harbor of the Future also includes other major waterfront economic development projects including the Science Park and Research Campus in Kips Bay, the North Shore of Staten Island, as well as the citywide Green Economy Action Plan to position New Yorks to benefit from nearly 400,000 “green collar” jobs by 2040 through initiatives such as the Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park.