Mayors want Charleston port deepened

Mayors want Charleston port deepened    About 100 mayors representing cities and towns across South Carolina urged President Obama in a letter this week to fund the next step in the Port of Charleston's post-45-foot harbor deepening project.
   The letter highlights the port's contribution to jobs in the region, and underlines the value of Charleston deepening to U.S. taxpayers. 'We must offer ocean carriers a 50-foot harbor to import and export their goods in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Southeast,' the mayors said.
   In South Carolina, nearly $12 billion in wages and more than 260,000 jobs are related to the port.
   A study completed earlier this year by the Army Corps of Engineers showed a federal interest in the next Charleston harbor-deepening project. “Preliminary studies at other nearby harbors show that Charleston Harbor would probably be the cheapest South Atlantic harbor to deepen to 50 feet,” the Corps said.

Newsome

   'We are extremely appreciative of and humbled by the mayors' support for Charleston deepening, particularly Charleston Mayor Joe Riley's leadership,' said Jim Newsome, president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina State Ports Authority, in a statement. 'Investing in port infrastructure gives companies across the region efficient access to global markets and supports hundreds of thousands of good jobs at a time when we desperately need them.'
   Charleston is able to move ships drafting up to 48 feet of water on high tide. Expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to bring more big ships to the East Coast, as companies and industries seek to improve efficiency and reduce costs, the port authority said.