Oakland port to receive nearly $50 million in Army Corp dredging funds

Oakland port to receive nearly $50 million in Army Corp dredging funds The Port of Oakland is set to receive nearly $50 million in harbor dredging and maintenance funds from an appropriations bill signed into law this week in Washington.
   The $555 billion 2008 Omnibus Appropriations legislation, which included funds for the war in Iraq and nearly 9,000 earmarks, also included about $41.3 million for the Port of Oakland's Harbor Deepening Project and just over $8.2 million for annual dredging operations and maintenance.
      The funds go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which is the federal agency responsible for the construction of the port's Harbor Deepening Project. The HDP is scheduled to bring the Oakland shipping harbor to an overall depth of more than 50 feet.
      Project components include the widening and deepening of the harbor entrance, outer and inner harbor channels, and two turning basins to greater than 50 feet, which is the average height of the lowest tidal measurements over a 19-year period. Currently the depths in the designated improvement areas are about 46 feet.
   Additional projects related to the HDP will include berth deepening and wharf strengthening.