Posted on January 10, 2017
After a public comment period through January 17, a decision on the plan by the corps’ New Orleans district commander is expected by March.
This is followed by a feasibility study in September and a corps’ commander’s report is to be submitted to the US Congress in March 2018. Once approved and signed into law, the project would take four years to complete.
The deepening project would have an initial cost of US$88.9 million, of which the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development would pay $22.2 million.
Anticipating traffic from the newly expanded Panama Canal, the Port of New Orleans wants access between wharves and Mississippi River channel also be deepened.
A plan released last month by the corps would dredge stretches between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
The dredging would allow Mississippi River ports like Plaquemines, New Orleans, and South Louisiana to handle larger neopanamax vessels that were built to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal.
The expanded canal can transit 14,000-TEUers when before it could only handle ships of 5,000 TEU.
US ports on all three coasts completed similar dredging projects or have applied to get them approved.
The recent passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) Act signed into law by President Obama on December 16, will facilitate funding of these types of projects. The legislation authorises $100 million for dredging.
The corps says that maintaining the deeper channel will cost about $21.6 million a year, all would be paid by the federal government. The project would take four years to complete.
Source: SeaNews
