PhilaPort dredging a team effort

By Philly.com

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 Photo Credit: Michael Bryant / Staff Photographer 
Cranes unload containers at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The dredging of the port will more-than-double its container volume.

The allocation of $29 million by the Army Corps of Engineers to complete the Delaware River deepening project is a great example of how our political system can work and the importance of effective leadership in our congressional delegation.
This $360 million dredging project, scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, will create a 45-foot deep channel that will enable the Port of Philadelphia to handle 95 percent of the world’s container a vessels.
The annual fight for federal funding since 2012 was intense. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) and Rep. Bob Brady (D., Phila.) worked to ensure the federal funding to make the port an economic catalyst for the region. Their efforts enabled Gov. Wolf to allocate an additional $300 million of state resources to expand the port. The project will more-than-double the port’s container volume, grow our job base from 10,000 to 17,000 workers, and provide high-quality, family-sustaining jobs while generating millions of dollars in local and state tax revenue.
This was also a great example of bipartisan cooperation. U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R., Delaware) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) helped eliminate roadblocks and garnered key support.
On behalf PhilaPort’s board of directors, the authority staff, and the men and women who work on the waterfront, I’d like to thanks the leaders who made this project a reality.
— Jerry Sweeney, chairman, PhilaPort, Philadelphia


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