Georgia’s political clout seeks its first test in port funding

You don’t hear about it much. What goes on generally there flies below the radar of most people, but one of the best kept secrets of Georgia’s economic boom is located a couple of hours from here, just down Interstate 16 at the ports of Savannah and Brunswick.

The numbers are truly staggering. A University of Georgia study puts the impact of the port in Savannah and at Brunswick at $39 billion annually. The ports have also done something that’s more than difficult to do in this era of hyper-partisanship. It has brought politicians of all stripes, Democrat and Republican, together to lobby for federal money to deepen the Savannah harbor so that it can accommodate the larger new Panamax ships.

The harbor and the 38-mile waterway is in the process of being dredged from 42 feet to 47 feet and every politician in the state, from Gov. Nathan deal to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to senators and representatives have been asking the federal government to help the state bear the almost billion dollar cost of the project.

Why is this project so important? First, the goods that come through Georgia’s ports head off to all points east of the Mississippi River and beyond and in their wake, they leave dollars. Jobs are tied to the ports that are hundreds of miles away. Second, shipping is a competitive business.

Georgia isn’t the only port shippers can use along the Eastern seaboard, nor is it the only one getting ready for the larger ships. Leaders in Charleston, S.C., is planning to deepen its 29-mile channel to 50 feet by the end of the decade, and other seaports are also looking to the feds for funding to expand their harbors.

Fortunately, Georgia got out of the gate faster than its competitors and have been working on this project for a decade, all necessitated by the expansion of the Panama Canal to handle the larger new Panamax ships which are 250 longer than standard container ships and carry more than twice the twenty-foot equivalent units as standard ships.

The state has already funded $266 million to start the dredging and received $45 million in the 2016 budget from the feds. But the full court press is on with the new Trump administration and Georgia should have enough political clout to receive a good result for more funding.

The state is well represented in the Senate and House and on President Trump’s Cabinet and they are all unified in mission. Trump has promised to pump $1 trillion into infrastructure and the port project is more than shovel ready, it’s in progress.

No need to draw up plans or see feasibility studies or environmental impacts. That’s all been done. We just need a little help paying for expanding this proven job creator that spreads its impact all over the southeast.

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 7:58 AM with the headline "Georgia’s political clout seeks its first test in port funding."