Port of Oakland dredge project hits a snag

Port of Oakland dredge project hits a snag    Underfunding from the federal government and an overworked Army Corps of Engineers mean the Port of Oakland's project to dredge its channels to 50 feet could be delayed by a year, the Oakland Tribune reported Sunday.
   The project, which port officials consider crucial to growing container volumes, would allow the largest cargo vessels with the deepest drafts access to the port's upgraded terminals.
   Yet the port received only $43 million of the $100 million it expected in the budget President George W. Bush submitted to Congress this month. It's a similar amount that the port has received in matching funds to dredge the channel to its current depth of 46 feet, but port officials were hoping for the larger amount so the project could be finished by 2007, the newspaper reported.
   Meanwhile, the Army Corps is dealing with projects to rebuild along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, setting back timetables for less urgent projects.
   Oakland's container volume grew more than any other California port in 2005 ' a 20 percent rise to 2.3 million TEUs for the year.