Posted on February 6, 2017
By Sebastian Kitchen, jacksonville.com
After a decade of discussion and planning, the head of JaxPort expects this will be the year construction begins on the $684-million project to deepen the ship channel of the St. Johns River.
“We are closer than we have ever been to getting this project started,” Jacksonville Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Brian Taylor said Thursday in his State of the Port address to the Propeller Club of the United States.
Port officials consider the project to deepen a 13-mile stretch of the St. Johns from 40 feet to 47 feet a top priority and a necessity to bring additional business from larger ships now passing through the expanded Panama Canal. Many shipping officials, including leadership at JaxPort, expect the so-called Post-Panamax ships will come to dominate the shipping trade.
“We cannot reach our full potential unless” the channel is deepened, Taylor said. The port authority has its state permit, has reached an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is acquiring necessary mitigation land. The next step is reaching a funding framework with the city and state to ensure the arrangement is in place to fund the $684 million project over several years. The port authority included $46.6 million in its current operating budget to begin the dredging work. The money for dredging includes $31.6 million from the state and $15 million in port financing.
Gov. Rick Scott, in his recently proposed budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, included $31.1 million for deepening and widening the channel at the port. Local funding would also be needed, but Mayor Lenny Curry said port officials have not asked.
“At the right time, they’ll ask the city for something,” Curry said. “The port hasn’t asked the city for a dime yet. They would probably say it’s not the right time.”
The mayor expects a request and said the city is a willing partner. He said the city will review the ask from the port and determine a “path to get there.” Curry said recently he is in regular contact with port officials and the two organizations are allies.
President Donald Trump said during a campaign stop in Jacksonville he was going to spend a lot of money on infrastructure, including deepening the harbor in Jacksonville. JaxPort board member John Newman, who served until recently as chairman, said the president clearly said he supports infrastructure and has already shown “things he said he wants to do he’s doing,” which he expects will be true with port funding. “It’s really been like watching a dream come true,” Newman, who is engaged to Trump aide Omarosa Manigault, said of the project coming to fruition.
“I think the time and opportunity for us to seek federal funding is probably the best it has ever been,” Taylor said of the push to fund infrastructure improvements. Taylor expects to reach out to the city about funding in the next month or two.
“Everybody has skin in the game,” Newman said when asked about funding. “We are the city’s port. The state has been supportive. I am confident the city will be supportive.”
Newman and Taylor are confident about securing the necessary funding, even though Taylor acknowledged Jacksonville is now represented by two freshmen in Congress and no longer by veterans who were involved with major projects.
The long-anticipated expansion to allow larger ships that carry more cargo set several East Coast ports, including Jacksonville, Miami and Savannah, racing toward expensive projects to deepen their ship channels. Miami has already deepened its channel to 50 feet and construction has started in Savannah.
Some of the larger ships travel to Jacksonville, but are unable to carry a full load because the channel here is not deep enough.
Taylor, who attended the summer grand opening of the expanded Panama Canal, said deepening the St. Johns River is important to compete for and secure jobs, and to maintain business, particularly with the growth in the container trade with Asia.
Trump also has created uncertainty with his talk about trade, including pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and criticizing other trade agreements. The president has repeatedly criticized China, which along with the rest of the region is an increasingly important trading partner with JaxPort. Taylor talked about the concerning “anti-China talk” and said some products Americans enjoy can only be purchased in the quality and quantity they want from the Asian market.
“If we don’t get this right, we all have a lot to lose,” he said.
When discussing the issue after the speech, Taylor said “anything that disrupts the flow of global commerce may not be good for ports.”
Newman said they believe in fair trade and he is OK with Trump moving forward with bilateral agreements instead of larger trade compacts between several nations.
The Asian portion of the container business at JaxPort has grown from nothing in 2008 to 35 percent in 2016, and continues to grow. Taylor said beginning work this year will help JaxPort stay competitive and compete with other East Coast ports. The Army Corps, which would oversee the construction work, could begin the bid process this summer and a contractor could begin work by the end of the year.
Environmental advocates have expressed repeated concerns about the expected construction damage to the river and the ecosystem from special hammers and explosives that could be utilized to break up rock and clear the way. The St. Johns Riverkeeper withdrew its opposition to the state permit, but expected to move the challenge to federal court.
The Army Corps included mitigation in its plans, but the Riverkeeper contends it is insufficient.
During his speech, Taylor talked about the increased revenue and operating income and increased containers moving through the port. He touted capital improvement projects completed in the last year including opening a rail transfer facility near the waterway, completion of a big ship berth, installation of large cranes, and removing a navigational issue that hindered large ships in the channel.
Source: jacksonville.com
