Additional Funds Secured for Jacksonville Harbor Dredging

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $46 million for the Jacksonville Harbor deep draft navigation project in its FY 2019 Work Plan.

This comes in addition to the $50 million in federal funding directed to JAXPORT for the project over the past two fiscal years, representing a substantial federal investment in growing commerce and trade in Northeast Florida.

Following the Army Corps’s announcement, Congressman Rutherford released the following statement: “Additional federal investment into the expansion at JAXPORT is another major victory for our region.”

“JAXPORT recently became the largest port by container volume in the state of Florida. Continued federal investment in the deep dredge project marks a significant step toward furthering JAXPORT’s substantial contributions to Northeast Florida and to our nation.” said Rutherford.

The 47-foot deepening improvement project, authorized by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, is expected to create 15,000 new jobs, with an estimated $24 return for every $1.00 invested.

JAXPORT is a significant economic engine and prosperous port of entry for commerce and trade on the Eastern Seaboard, supporting $26.9 billion in total economic output, 132,000 jobs, and $727 million in state and local taxes, of which $169 million is directly generated by cargo operations.