By
Rebecca Gibson |
Canaveral Port Authority has awarded Merritt Island-based Ivey’s Construction a US$108.5 million contract to build both Cruise Terminal 3 and an adjacent 1,800-vehicle parking garage.
Ivey’s Construction has a long-standing partnership with the port after building Cruise Terminal 1 and its adjacent parking garage in 2014, as well as the parking garage for Cruise Terminal 5 in 2016. The company is currently improving the roads on the north side cruise terminal and installing new navigational signage throughout Port Canaveral. The Cruise Terminal 3 contract is part of the port’s largest single building project in its 65-year history and Ivey’s Construction expect to complete it by May 2020.
RUSH Marine from Titusville, Florida has already been contracted to construct the new waterside berth, a US$38.6 million project that started in September 2018 and is expected to be finished this December. The team will demolish the existing pier structures and install protective barriers to prevent erosion resulting from wake and wave action generated by vessels transiting the port’s main channel.
“We’re creating a world-class cruise terminal and with these contract awards, the project is mobilising and moving ahead,” said John Murray, port CEO. “We are confident that this state-of-the-art facility will be constructed on schedule and on budget.”
Boasting a futuristic design inspired by nearby Kennedy Space Center, the new two-storey terminal building will span 188,000 square feet and accommodate up to 6,500 cruise guests. The facility will have modern systems to screen arriving passengers according to US Customs and Border Protection regulations, as well as integrated mobile passenger check-in to expedite boarding processes.
Cruise Terminal 3 will serve as a homeport for Carnival Cruise Line’s new 180,000gt XL-class ship Mardi Gras, which will begin service in autumn 2020. The vessel will be the first North American-based cruise ship powered by LNG and will carry around 5,200 passengers.