JACKSONVILLE DREDGING FUNDED

January 14, 2008

Congress has funded the Jacksonville Port Authority’s $2.8 million, long-planned dredging project in the St. Johns River.

The money was approved as part of a $555 billion spending bill sent to the White House for President Bush’s signature.

Rick Ferrin, port authority director, told local reporters the money will help pay for a $22 million project to deepen a 5.5-mile section of the river upstream and east of downtown Jacksonville including Talleyrand and the Chaseville Turn. The navigable depth will increase from 38 to 41 feet and the turn will be widened, he said.

Planning began in the 1990s, he said. The dredging should begin this year and finish next year.
Of the $22 million, Ferrin said Jaxport is responsible for $7 million and the Army Corps of Engineers will pay the remaining $15 million.

Ferrin said the dredging would enable Talleyrand Terminal mainstays including Hamburg Sud to bring heavier ships to the port.

http://www.floridashipper.com/news/article.asp?ltype=ports&sid=25196