Tulsa World
by: KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer
Sunday, June 26, 2011
6/26/2011 3:43:36 AM
The first barge coasted into the docking facility at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa on Jan. 21, 1971, with 650 tons of newsprint for the Tulsa World and The Tulsa Tribune.
It was the culmination of a decade of studies, a massive federal building project and $21.1 million in general obligation bonds from taxpayers in Tulsa and Rogers counties.
Those who attended the official dedication that June had joked about having a port in Oklahoma, the furthest inland water port in the country, and President Richard Nixon quipped, "It's a pleasure for me to be here on the Oklahoma seacoast."
Four decades after that dedication, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa has carried more than 67 million tons of cargo up and down the Verdigris, Arkansas, Mississippi rivers into the port.
Port director Bob Portiss, who has worked there since 1973, calls it the "best financial investment the region has ever made."
"After that first investment, we've been completely self-sufficient," Portiss said. "We build our own roads and employ more than 3,000 people at the businesses here. Can you name any other public works project with that kind of record?" FULL ARTICLE
Posted on
Sun, June 26, 2011
by John Cox