The Jacksonville City Council voted for an additional $110 million to the ongoing St. Johns River dredging which is critical to the continuing expansion of the port.
The voted project, which will take five years, will make the port accessible to the large post-Panamax container ships sailing from Asia through the new large locks at the Panama Canal.
It is stated that the city council cast 17 unanimous votes according to the Jacksonville Daily Record to authorize the city contribution to the project as well as a loan to the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The project includes dredging the shipping channel from its current depth of 40 feet to a total of 47 feet for its 13-mile length from the Atlantic Ocean to the Dames Point terminal.
In addition, the city will contribute to the financing of the project by $56 million from the federal budget earmarked for the project. Overall, the port stated that about 80% of the cost of the total project, nearly $400 million, has been raised from the federal and state government along with the port and local business.
