The Jacksonville Business Journal's John Burr asks the questions we've already been pointing out for years at Metro Jacksonville.
QuoteNow that we know the local cost of dredging the St. Johns River to a 47-foot depth, we can begin the great debate: Is it worth it?
Here’s the shorthand: To get to 47-feet, the city and state will have to pay $383 million. To stop at 45 feet, the city and state will need $189 million.
And now the questions: Will the port get that much more business from the cost of the deeper dredging to justify the cost? To what extent will the St. Johns River be damaged by the dredging? Do we have much of a chance of winning the trade from the large cargo ships that need the deeper depth, given that we are behind the curve compared with other East Coast ports that are in the process of deepening their ports? What do we want to be when we grow up?
full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/2013/05/jacksonvilles-big-port-question-has.html
Quote from: thelakelander on June 01, 2013, 08:51:14 AM
The Jacksonville Business Journal's John Burr asks the questions we've already been pointing out for years at Metro Jacksonville.
And now the question: Will the port get that much more business from the cost of the deeper dredging to justify the cost?
And now the answer, maybe we will, remember it wasn't all that long ago that Savannah was breathing the fumes from our tail pipe. Traffic ebbs and flows like the sea, because they have the upper hand today is no indicator of tomorrow. What is a certainty is if we do nothing, our port will slowly strangle, the terminals will close one by one, and someday within a 30-40 year window it will be no more. Perhaps we could clear it all away and make parking lots?
How much of that $383 Million is just for environmental abatement?
Personally, as historic Savannah is, when I see a ship moving up or down it makes me think they sold their soul to keep their stake in shipping.
Charleston has the best deep water access of them all, but its rail infrastructure reeks.
I am still wondering how a ship with a >40 foot draft is going to get under the Dames Point Bridge. All of that ballast tank flushing to get under is going to make the river a foreign pest zone. Just ask the upper Great Lakes about lampreys and zebra mussels.