Ga. port deepening shrinks by 1 foot, adds $50M
by Russ Bynum
Associated Press
April 11, 2012 12:54 PM | 279 views | 0 0 comments | 2 2 recommendations | email to a friend | print
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) _ Plans to deepen the Port of Savannah’s busy shipping channel are shrinking by a foot of depth while adding about $50 million in costs to taxpayers.

Those were the major changes to the project revealed Wednesday as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final study on the economic and environmental impacts of dredging the Savannah River between the port and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Georgia Ports Authority long sought to deepen the river from 42 to 48 feet. But port officials yielded to the federal agency’s finding that stopping at 47 feet would create a better cost-benefit ratio.

The project’s overall cost rose to $652 million. Col. Jeff Hall, commander of the Army Corps’ Savannah District, says most of the added costs are for new environmental mitigation features.

Comments
(0)
Comments-icon Post a Comment
No Comments Yet
*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, spam, and links to outside websites will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides