Port Canaveral deepening report submitted

   Canaveral Port Authority said a Civil Works Review Board for the Feasibility Study for Canaveral Harbor on Oct. 3 gave unanimous approval for submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
   Port Canaveral said the project to widen its 400-foot-wide harbor by 100 feet and to deepen it by two feet along its three-and-a-half mile length so it can be used by larger cruise and cargo ships is expected to begin in July 2013 and be completed in fall of 2014.
   Florida Gov. Rick Scott recently committed $24.4 million in state funding to Port Canaveral’s channel project. The port has a channel that is 44-feet deep at the entrance channel and berths that range in depth from 40 feet to 35 feet.
   The port said the Corp’s Jacksonville District is in the process of submitting letters to federal and state agencies requesting 30 days review of the proposed reports of the chief of engineers and district engineer.
   The port said the project will be included in the chief’s report of recommended projects to Congress as early as Dec. 12 and no later than Feb. 13. The project proposed in the feasibility study is pending federal authorization in the next Water Resources Development Act. – Chris Dupin