Oakland to get federal funding for dredging

Oakland to get federal funding for dredging    The Port of Oakland is expected to get a $48 million boost from the federal government to help with a channel dredging project to be completed by early 2007, the Oakland Tribune reported Tuesday.
   The funding, approved Monday by the Senate, will be added to the $57 million already spent by the federal government to make the Oakland Estuary 50 feet deep, necessary to accommodate the newest class of container ships.
   The funding must now be approved by the House of Representatives, but port officials told the newspaper they don't expect any roadblocks because the request already made it through a Senate-House conference committee.
   Even with the new grant, the dredging project will be about $60 million short of the total needed, and the Tribune reported that the port will ask for the money next year. The entire project is expected to cost about $300 million, with the cost split between the port and the federal government.