Tulsa Port of Catoosa, River port in Catoosa, Oklahoma.
Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the primary facility of Tulsa Ports, a 2,500-acre industrial park and river terminal on the Verdigris River in Rogers County, just inside Tulsa's municipal fenceline. Its five public terminals move bulk freight between barges, trucks and rail cars, with a 720-foot dry cargo dock, a 200-ton overhead bridge crane and a roll-on/roll-off wharf for oversized project cargo.
The idea of a Tulsa river port took shape in the early 1960s while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. A delegation of 23 Tulsa businesspeople travelled to Ohio to assess how Ohio River navigation had spurred regional business, then convinced local leaders; the Chamber of Commerce appointed Early Cass to chair the City of Tulsa–Rogers County Port Authority. The port opened for business on February 20, 1970, took its first commercial shipment in January 1971, and was dedicated by President Richard M. Nixon on June 5, 1971.
The port's name comes from the city of Catoosa in Rogers County, though the site lies just inside Tulsa's municipal boundary. Its industrial park holds over 70 companies employing more than 4,000 people, and the port was rebranded as Tulsa Ports on 24 September 2020. Barges leave here loaded with Oklahoma manufactured goods and agricultural products bound for the wider world.
The port lies 8 miles (13 km) from Tulsa International Airport and 15 miles (24 km) from downtown Tulsa, just inside Tulsa's municipal boundary near Catoosa in Rogers County. It is a working multimodal terminal served by the BNSF and South Kansas and Oklahoma railroads, with five public terminals along the channel; access is for business and freight traffic rather than casual sightseeing.
The port sits at the head of navigation of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, 8 miles from Tulsa International Airport and 15 miles from downtown Tulsa. River flow levels are controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, keeping barge service ice-free year-round. In 2016 a new 720-ft dock with a rail line and multiple cranes was added.
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