The deepening of Miami’s seaport in advance of the Panama Canal expansion is finally underway.
PortMiami officials announced Thursday that the long-discussed deep dredging of the seaport has commenced, Reuters reported. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the $220 million project. Plans call for the port’s channels to reach a depth of 50 feet to accommodate the larger ships expected to be used once the Panama Canal widening is finished in 2015.
Dredging is scheduled to be completed in 18 months. The project is part of $2 billion in infrastructure improvements planned at Port Miami.
The seaport services about four million cruise passengers each year and moves a substantial amount of cargo volume. [Reuters] — Eric Kalis