Federal funds approved for Craney Island

Federal funds approved for Craney Island    The Virginia Port Authority said $100,000 has been authorized in the federal budget for development of the Craney Island Marine Terminal.
   “This is pivotal because inclusion in the budget clears the way for federal money to begin flowing to the project,' said J.J. Keever, the Virginia Port Authority's senior deputy director.
   In May, $28.5 million was earmarked for Craney Island in the president's proposed budget and port leaders, while hopeful, were doubtful that amount would survive the various budget reviews. Keever said the amount of funding is not what is important but rather the beginning of the federal government's financial commitment to the project.
   The VPA has planned a $2.2 billion, 600-acre terminal with 8,400 linear feet of berth space, 20 Suez-class cranes and an on-terminal intermodal container transfer facility. The marine terminal will be built in three phases over the next 20-25 years and upon completion have capacity for at least 2.5 million TEUs.
   Work on the first phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2011 and finish in 2019 or 2020. This phase includes 220 acres of container yard, 3,000 linear feet of berth space, eight cranes and the ICTF.