by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
A local business group learned Tuesday that it may take some time for the port business to reach high gear.
When asked about how long it would take to deepen the shipping lanes that serve Jacksonville ports, Steve Ross, senior project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, didn’t see a quick timetable.
“Even if everything did fall into place, we are estimating that approval could happen by the latter part of 2015 with an estimated two years to complete the dredging,” said Ross. “That’s without knowing what depth we are talking about.”
A study is under way to determine the cost-benefit and environmental impact of dredging.
The Port Authority and the customers it serves would like to see the shipping lanes dredged to a depth of 50 feet from the current 40 feet to accommodate the larger ships that will be able to travel through the widened Panama Canal when the project is finished in 2014.
But the study is looking at what the cost-benefit would be per foot of new depth to find out the optimum for the best return on investment.
Improvements to the Jacksonville ports were among the topics of discussion at the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville’s May meeting Tuesday at Maggiano’s at St. Johns Town Center. The panel discussion was “What is the future of JaxPort?”
“The expansion of the port affects so many other businesses, that is why we chose this topic,” said Jody Brooks, a member of CREW. “It is so important to the different commercial interests of (CREW).”
The future of the port has been tied to both deepening the channel in the shipping lanes and “fixing” Mile Point.
The Army Corps of Engineers is also studying how to open up the shipping window for vessels to reach Jacksonville ports, which is limited to about two four-hour windows each day due to tidal conditions.
Mile Point is where the Intracoastal Waterway, a south-flowing body, and the St. Johns River, a north-flowing body, intersect. The collision of these two waterways along with varying tide levels makes it difficult for ships to call on local ports.
A report that details the remedy for Mile Point is scheduled to be released by the Army Corps for public review this summer. The second study is examining the financial feasibility of lowering the depth of the shipping channels from its current depth of 40 feet.
Panelists Yemisi Bolumole, a Kip Research Fellow of Logistics at the University of North Florida; attorney George Gabel of Holland & Knight; and Nancy Rubin, communications and public relations director for the Port Authority, were also on the panel.
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