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July 7, 2008
The Jacksonville Port Authority may be $9 million closer to completing the current phase of channel deepening in Jacksonville harbor.
Congressman Anders Crenshaw, R-Jacksonville, said he secured the funding through a House appropriations bill, but it still must get approval from the full House in July.
The money will complete the ongoing project to deepen five miles of the St. Johns River shipping channel to 41 feet from mile marker 14.7 to Talleyrand Marine Terminal.
The port has set a goal of deepen the channel to at least 45 feet so that it can compete with other Atlantic coast ports that will compete for Post Panamax vessels once the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed around 2014. Miami, New York and Virginia are the only ports expected to be deep enough for the giant ships when the new canal locks are completed.
“Finishing this project will give the port the competitive edge it needs for future business,” Crenshaw said in a news release.
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