Army Corps of Engineers awards another $46 million towards harbor deepening

The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded another $46 million toward the harbor-deepening project to get parts of the St. Johns River deepend from 40 to 47 feet.

It comes nearly two months after the corps was awarded a second contract to deepen the next 5-mile stretch of the St. Johns River.

It’s focusing on deepening the river to Blount Island first to allow larger ships to off-load there but the entire project is still years from being finished and all the funding is not yet secured.

The latest investment comes in addition to $50 million in federal funding that Congressman John Rutherford says has been directed to the project over the last two years.

In a news release, Rutherford’s office called it an “investment in growing commerce and trade in northeast Florida”.

Just last month, Action News Jax showed you how a New Jersey-based toy company chose Jacksonville over Tampa for its new distribution center.

In October, Vincent Cameron of the International Longshoremen Association attributed that to the ongoing dredging project.

 “Jacksonville now becomes one of the major players, and that’s why you see the warehousing and all this blowing up all over the city. It’s in preparation for bigger things to come,” said Cameron.

Jaxport says deepening the river will enhance the port’s competitiveness.

The Army Corps of Engineers says phase two of the project will begin next month and it’ll take nearly three years to complete that phase.

Funding for the third and fourth phases has not been secured yet.

Meanwhile, there’s pending litigation by the riverkeeper who says more needs to be done to offset the damage dredging may cause to the environment.