CBS 5: Port Of Oakland Gets $48 Million For Improvements

CBS 5: Port Of Oakland Gets $48 Million For Improvements: "Port Of Oakland Gets $48 Million For Improvements
Save It Email It Print It
(BCN) The U.S. Senate has approved $48 million to deepen the Port of Oakland's harbor, improving the waterway for commercial shipping use, according to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

'As the fourth busiest port in the nation, Oakland harbor is one of this country's most important economic gateways,' Boxer said in a statement.

Boxer said, 'It is essential we deepen the Oakland harbor so that the next generation of commercial ships can reach the Port of Oakland. This environmentally sound project will also use material left over from dredging to restore wetlands in the San Francisco Bay.'

She said, 'I am very pleased that the Senate has recognized the importance of this project to California and the country.'

Boxer, who has worked on the Oakland harbor-dredging project since 1998, obtained funding in the final version of the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill.

The funding will be used to dredge the inner and outer Oakland harbor to a depth of 50 feet, which will allow the largest container ships to navigate the harbor.

The project will expand the country's shipping capacity and is expected to create about 8,800 additional jobs.

All of the dredged material from the harbor-deepening project will be used to improve the San Francisco Bay, including wetland restoration, habitat enhancement and upland use projects, she said.

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill provides funding for civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy and independent agencies in fiscal 2006, Boxer said.

The legislation now goes to President Bush for "