by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
Exactly how many men does it take to keep a “ship afloat”? Apparently, just one.
In an effort to streamline all its engineering, construction and site work to one central in-house engineer, the Jacksonville Port Authority has created the new position of senior director in its department of Construction and Engineering.
Veteran engineer Tim Murphy as been appointed to the position and began working at the Port May 14. Formerly serving the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) as its senior Project Manager for Navigation Projects in the Jacksonville district, Murphy brings nearly two decades of engineering experience to the Port and is responsible for overseeing virtually all jobs at the Port’s Talleyrand, Dames Point and Blount Island terminals.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to be here at the Port Authority at this time with all the present growth it’s going through,” said Murphy. “Plus, it’s a great spot for an engineer to be for the next 10 years. We have many exciting things planned.”
According to the Port Authority’s Executive Director Rick Ferrin, Murphy was selected for the position because of his extensive knowledge of engineering – particularly the dredging process – as well as the city of Jacksonville.
Murphy, an Alabama native who earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and a master’s degree from the University of Florida, has been in Jacksonville since 1988 when he took the position with the Corps.
“Murphy possesses a well-rounded understanding of the dredging process from beginning to end,” said Ferrin. “Plus, he’s also both a great manager and leader – and there is a difference between the two.”
As the Construction and Engineering department’s senior director, Murphy oversees all engineering and construction projects related to the Port and also handles long-range planning and budgets.
Ferrin said previously there were no expert engineers in-house and that most projects were handled by individual project managers.
Currently one of the department’s biggest projects, Murphy said, is construction of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines owned Trans Pacific Container Service Corporation (MOL/TraPac) terminal at Dames Point which will cost $220 million to construct (Mitsui is funding $200 million while the Port is funding the remaining $20 million). The terminal is expected to handle 800,000, 20-foot equivalent units of containerized cargo each year, doubling the Port’s yearly container throughput.
“Essentially (the project) is a contract and so Jaxport is building a terminal for MOL/TraPac from scratch, beginning only with dirt,” said Murphy, adding construction on the MOL/TraPac terminal is supposed to be completed by December 2008. “So that project occupies a large portion of the department’s time right now. It is the current project.”
Murphy added that because of the size of the Port — including the Blount Island, Dames Point and Talleyrand Terminals — the department is constantly overseeing a number of smaller repairs, improvements and ongoing general maintenance to make the transportation infrastructure safer and more efficient.
Right now the department has a small staff but is planning to grow, said Murphy.
“The Port is growing at a phenomenal pace and with that growth always come problems to be solved and so a solid, well-equipped department is required to implement appropriate solutions,” he said.
When he’s not glued to the drafting bench or supervising a job site, Murphy enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his wife and three daughters at their home in Mandarin.