Governmental approval of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 signals the Port of Virginia’s Wider, Deeper, Safer project has secured full federal authorization.
President Trump’s signature on the Act clears the path for The Port of Virginia to become the deepest and safest port on the nation’s East Coast, noting the dredge work will take the inner harbor’s commercial channels to 55 feet deep and the channel in the Chesapeake Bay to 56 feet deep.
The project’s target completion date is 2025 and includes plans to widen the channel to as much as 1,400 feet in select areas, enabling two-way traffic of ultra-large container vessels.
“Virginia’s inclusion in this legislation will ultimately provide us the means to better serve our ocean carrier customers by allowing them to sail the biggest ships in their fleets to Virginia,” John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said. “When Wider, Deeper, Safer is coupled with the $700 million investment we are making to expand capacity at our main container terminals, cargo owners throughout the Mid-Atlantic and the nation’s Heartland benefit because the speed of exports and imports flowing through Virginia will increase.”
The Act provides for improvements to the nation’s rivers and harbors; for the conservation and development of water and related resources; and for water pollution control activities and other purposes.