| “To have the support of the administration, followed on by the support of Congress, to complete what is currently the total estimated cost of the project, it’s a huge hurdle,” said Barbara Melvin, COO of the S.C. Ports Authority. “So we’re very excited about the fact that the funding is identified, the risk is out of the project, and this is really going to see its completion date and not have any more ambiguity with regards to where’s the money going to come.” Melvin said it was “a bit of a surprise” for the federal government commit so much funding all at once. “But what we think it really is, it’s not only the recognition of how great our project is and the benefits that it will deliver to the nation, but that they understand the time value of money,” she said. “So stretching appropriations out over five or six years and adding to the risk of completion of the project is not what this administration decided to invest in. They decided to invest in completion of the project.” Melvin said the next large contract to be awarded in the Charleston Harbor deepening project is dredging between the Wando Welch Terminal and the new Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal. The last contract will be from the Leatherman Terminal to the North Charleston Terminal. The project is expected to be completed in 2021, at which point Charleston will have the deepest port on the East Coast at 52 feet — at least temporarily. The Port of Virginia is expected to begin dredging work in January to bring its depth to 54 feet by the end of 2024. The deepening project received $246 million from the federal government, including this $138 million and $108 million of previously allocated money from the Army Corps of Engineers’ work plans. The state set aside $300 million for the project in 2012, which went toward preliminary studies and the first two dredging contracts. Last year, the state funded a $50 million loan to keep the project on track while waiting for federal funds. Port officials expect to use some federal dollars to reimburse the state for additional spending. | 