Inexpensive Mile Point fix won't work, Corps says

[fieldafm]

In news from the 'suprise of the century' file .:cough:. sarcasm

From Biz Journal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2011/02/11/inexpensive-mile-point-fix-wont-work.html

[Bativac]

So by 2014, when the actual expensive fix is supposed to be finished, will there be any companies left who haven't taken their business elsewhere?

[Garden guy]

This poor river is being beat to hell and back...she just takes a licking and keeps on flowing...she's so tired of us fucking with her...we bind her....dredge her...suck clean water out..put nasty water in...we widen her..we narrow her...what are we doing...everyone talks about the jobs and the money..i just hope those jobs and all that money is worth this beautiful lady called the St. Johns..

[Timkin]

I agree , Garden...the majority of damage to the St Johns has been done in the last 50 years.

The Human race will cause of their own demise when they finally pollute everything to the point that it wipes them out .

[Jumpinjack]

There will be consequences for straightening the river at this point. The flow from the north and south ICW is fierce here and lots of bottom silt and muck will be moving to deposit on new locations.

[mtraininjax]

Not one port along the east coast got the money they wanted to deepen their harbors. Not even Miami, which was a logical choice because they are closest to the Panama Canal. So this tells me that no one will get any this year or maybe next, as we head into an election year.

500 million dollars necessary to produce X jobs is an expensive proposition for any lawmaker, let alone one with an angry mob after them to cut expenses.

[simms3]

I would rather us "damage" the river to reap huuuggggeeee economic benefit for the entire city, as in a deepening, than see one lone company (cough Georgia Pacific) rape the river down near Green Cove for their own economic benefit.

[cline]

I would rather us "damage" the river to reap huuuggggeeee economic benefit for the entire city, as in a deepening, than see one lone company (cough Georgia Pacific) rape the river down near Green Cove for their own economic benefit.

So what happens if we go through with all of this and we don't see this much talked-about "huge" economic benefit?  What if these shipping companies choose other ports?  Sorry, but I'm not buying that the port dredging will be savior of Jacksonville.  I'm all for job creation but I don't feel its worth putting what could be the final nail in our already sickly river's coffin.  The port already does a pretty damn good business as it is.  Perhaps it should embrace being a mid sized port and leave the dreams of post panamax ships to others. 

[BridgeTroll]

The port already does a pretty damn good business as it is.  Perhaps it should embrace being a mid sized port and leave the dreams of post panamax ships to others.

I am not against the dredging and modernization/expansion of the port.  This entire project is designed to enable the "Panamax" ships from Asia trade here.  We have another large and growing market to our south.  Like Cline suggested... do we have to compete with the biggest?  Perhaps our niche is European, Carribean, Central and South American trade...