Senator Lindsay Graham, said he expects a final Senate vote on a bill to deepen the Charleston harbor this week. The Water Resources Development Act is critical to ensuring the harbor deepening project remains on track. The passed bill would deepen the harbor 52 feet.
60-percent of vessels in the harbor on a weekly basis are called ‘post Panamax ships.’ Right now the harbor can only dock these ships when tides allow, but with a deeper tide they can be docked 24/7.
The deepening of the harbor also allows the $300 million that the state of South Carolina has set aside to be spent on the local cost share that will be matched by an approximate $180 million investment by the federal government.
It also removes one of the largest legislative barriers to ensuring that Charleston Harbor is deepened. The project is scheduled for completion in 2020.