Representative Mark Sanford released the following statement after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a Project Partnership Agreement with the South Carolina Ports Authority last week, which officially starts the construction phase of the Charleston Harbor Post 45 Deepening project.
“I’m pleased that the Charleston Harbor Deepening project is entering into a new phase, and I think that everyone involved is excited to start to see the fruits of their labor be put into action,” said Sanford.
“Once completed, the Port of Charleston will offer the deepest harbor on the East Coast with unrestricted capability to handle post-Panamax vessel calls. It’s impressive to see such an important project sticking to its rigorous schedule.”
The award of the first contract this fall by the Charleston District will enable dredging construction to begin in the entrance channel in December.
Depending on full-funding, dredge availability, weather and a variety of other factors, the construction of the entire project will take 40-76 months.
A timeline for the dredging of the upper and lower harbors has not yet been finalized, but will take place concurrently during a portion of this timeframe, said USACE.