by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Improvements to the Jacksonville ports was one of the topics of discussion at the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville’s May meeting 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).”
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.”
The future of the port has been tied to both deepening the channel in the shipping lanes and “fixing” Mile Point.
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.