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Rutherford Announces Additional $46 Million for JAXPORT

November 21, 2018

Funding Continues the Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Project

Jacksonville, FL – Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded $46 million for the Jacksonville Harbor deep draft navigation project in its FY 2019 Work Plan. This comes in addition to the $50 million in federal funding directed to JAXPORT for the project over the past two fiscal years, representing a substantial federal investment in growing commerce and trade in Northeast Florida.

Congressman Rutherford has fought hard to ensure JAXPORT continues to receive federal support for this deep dredge project, which is already yielding three miles of on-schedule dredging, and, when completed, will enable mega-sized container vessels to enter the port, spurring economic growth and creating jobs in Northeast Florida.

Following today's announcement, Congressman Rutherford released the following statement:

"Additional federal investment into the expansion at JAXPORT is another major victory for our region," said Rutherford. "JAXPORT recently became the largest port by container volume in the state of Florida. As a driver of regional economic activity and a strategically important national security infrastructure asset, we must continue to build upon this tremendous growth by enhancing the international competitiveness of JAXPORT. Continued federal investment in the deep dredge project marks a significant step toward furthering JAXPORT's substantial contributions to Northeast Florida and to our nation."

The 47-foot deepening improvement project, authorized by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, is expected to create 15,000 new jobs, with an estimated $24 return for every $1.00 invested.

JAXPORT is a significant economic engine and prosperous port of entry for commerce and trade on the Eastern Seaboard, supporting $26.9 billion in total economic output, 132,000 jobs, and $727 million in state and local taxes, of which $169 million is directly generated by cargo operations.