1. Background & Purpose

• The LIT (Louisiana International Container Terminal) is a 2 million TEU facility being planned in Violet, Louisiana, about 17 miles down the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
• It is being developed via a public-private partnership between Port NOLA, Ports America, and MSC’s Terminal Investment Limited (TiL).
• The redesign is driven by the need to conform to the new ILA (International Longshoremen’s Association) Master Contract, which covers labour on the US East and Gulf Coasts.

2. Road-Routing Challenge (“Crossing the Road”)

• A major design challenge comes from the St. Bernard Highway, which runs along the river in the area designated for the terminal.
• Originally, Port NOLA had proposed re-routing this highway around the terminal, but local residents raised concerns about the impact of traffic on nearby neighborhoods.
• In response, the design was revised to keep the highway largely in its current alignment and instead build three large bridges over the road. These bridges will connect the river-side berths with the terminal’s container yard.

3. Terminal Layout & Operational Design (“Changing Plans”)

• Earlier concept renderings showed the three bridges servicing what looked like an RMG exchange zone in the middle of the yard, possibly indicating use of automated or rail-mounted gantry cranes.
• However, the latest conceptual design (as of October 2025) shows shorter bridges and a traffic flow more consistent with a conventional RTG (Rubber-Tyred Gantry) terminal. There is no clear separated truck-exchange zone that would suggest highly automated operations.
• According to Port NOLA, the significant modifications in this draft relate to:
  • The three wharf-to-terminal ramps
  • The configuration of container storage yards
• These changes were made specifically to reflect equipment specifications and operational requirements under the ILA contract.

4. Development Status & Next Steps

• The terminal layout is still under development, and the design is not yet final.
• The latest draft (October 2025) already shows significant changes, indicating that Port NOLA is actively iterating the design to balance community concerns, operational efficiency, and labour agreement requirements.
• The project remains a long-term infrastructure investment, and its evolution will likely be informed by further stakeholder (community, labour, technical) feedback.