Duluth, Minn. — Late yesterday, tugboat Meredith Ashton and a 240-foot deck barge loaded with project cargo became the first vessel in decades to dock at the rebuilt northeast-facing Berth 10 on the Clure Terminal Expansion pier. The 667-foot berth, along with northwest-facing Berth 11, opened for use following a $10.5 million reconstruction project completed in March 2025.
The new berths feature 1,200 lineal feet of steel dock wall, new bollards, and reinforced concrete decking. Their reconstruction increased overall vessel berthing and cargo laydown capacity at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s Clure Public Marine Terminal, which includes the original property and the adjacent 26-acre Clure Terminal Expansion pier (formerly Garfield C&D) on Rice’s Point.
Previously home to a 1907-built Peavey/Cargill grain terminal that closed in the 1980s, the pier fell into disuse through the 1990s. After acquiring it, the Port Authority began a decades-long redevelopment that included demolition of the grain elevators in 1997. In 2015, two years after winning a $10 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant, the Port Authority initiated a comprehensive reconstruction of the cleared site. In 2016, the Port Authority formally renamed it the Clure Terminal Expansion pier after completing construction of a modern truck- and rail-served ro-ro dock and refurbishment of multiple ship berths. This work included restoration of the southeast-facing Berth 8 and Berth 9, which hosted a ceremony in May 1959 for the Ramon de Larrinaga as the Port of Duluth-Superior’s first oceangoing arrival through the newly constructed St. Lawrence Seaway.
Today, the pier offers 26 acres of cargo laydown space, four heavy-lift-capable vessel berths (including the recent additions of Berths 10 and 11) and on-dock rail service connecting to four Class I railroads. It serves as a key component of the region’s multimodal logistics hub, with Duluth Cargo Connect using it for dimensional and heavy-lift cargo handling. The pier also welcomed Duluth-Superior’s first oceangoing vessel calls in both 2025 and 2026.
“The transformation of this pier from abandoned relic into a thriving, modern hub for heavy-lift and project cargo transport spanned more than 30 years, so it’s satisfying to see it redesigned, rebuilt and reinvigorated,” said Kevin Beardsley, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.
“This project would not have been possible without the resolve of past Port Authority leadership, and financial support from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration and the Minnesota legislature.
“Duluth-Superior will probably always be known first as a bulk natural resources port, but it also became the Great Lakes’ heaviest-lift port when the Clure Terminal opened, and the expansion pier redevelopment enhanced our port’s capability as a breakbulk cargo-handling hub for North America’s midsection.”
(Photo from Duluth Seaway Port Authority)