R.G. Edmonson, Associate Editor | Feb 08, 2012 5:19PM EST
The Port of Jacksonville, Fla., will receive an additional $7.7 million and the ports of Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., will get $2.5 million each for work on their deepening projects, the Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday.
The allocations were part of a $5 billion budget the Corps outlined for fiscal 2012, money the Corps received after Congress approved this year’s appropriations in December.
A big share of the funds will go toward East Coast ports moving to deepen channels and improve access for larger ships expected to reach U.S. shores after expanded locks at the Panama Canal open in 2014.
The funding at Jaxport will go to extend navigation and maintenance work underway on the St. Johns River. Most of the money will go toward the development of the Mile Point project, intended to fix a navigation problem that prevents ready access for large container ships.
Savannah Harbor received an additional $2.5 million for harbor expansion, and $4.8 million for maintenance dredging. Charleston received $2.5 million for development of channels deeper than 45 feet, and an additional $228,000 for maintenance dredging.
The Corps also allocated an additional $868,000 for the Port of Oakland’s 50-foot channel project, bringing the port’s total construction investment to $1.2 million this year.
Two Ohio River locks and dams received a boost in construction funds. Olmsted Lock and Dam in Illinois received an additional $3 million, bringing the construction total for this year to $150 million. Markland Lock and Dam between Indiana and Kentucky, received $2.5 million.
The Corps allocated $16.8 million to continue dredging the Delaware River channel from 40 to 45 feet. That appropriation is part of a $266 million project that began in March 2010. When finished, the 102-mile channel will allow access to larger vessels to the ports of Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia, and Camden, N.J. The Corps estimated the work will contribute $13 million to the U.S. economy.