U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that $20 million in funding for the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project has been included in the President’s fiscal year 2014 (FY14) budget.
Inclusion in the Administration’s budget marks a major step forward for the dredging effort, and could be the catalyst for finally getting the project done.
“ I have worked hard to ensure that adequate resources are in place to deepen the Channel, ” said Senator Casey. “ The Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in southeastern Pennsylvania and will increase the economic competitiveness of the region. This is another great step forward for this project, and I will continue to fight to ensure that this job gets done. ”
Senator Casey has been a strong advocate for the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project and has urged President Obama, Vice President Biden and other key administration officials to include this project in the President’s budget. Since joining the Senate, he has helped to secure $95 million for the project.
The project will deepen the Delaware River channel from forty feet to forty-five feet in order to accommodate larger vessels. This will reduce shipping costs, make maritime transportation more efficient and make the channel safer and more reliable. Once the channel is deepened, there will be an estimated increase of 2.5 million tons of cargo to the Port of Philadelphia, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
In addition, this project will create thousands of short-term jobs that aid an industry that has suffered significantly in this economic climate.
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Press Release, April 11, 2013