A.G. Gancarski
Local and state legislators in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida see deepening the JaxPort channel as a priority. However, the gap between what’s in the budget and what’s needed is significant, though apparently not prohibitive.
The Florida Department of Transportation has budgeted money for the project. About $10 million has been set aside, and the state of Florida set aside another $15.5 million in the 2015-2016 budget. However, as The Florida Times-Union’s David Bauerlein reports, that $25 million just a fraction of what’s needed: State earmarks $10 million for Jax dredging estimated to cost $684 million.
The Port Miami dredge got $112 million in state funding.
Despite the seeming disparity, proponents of dredging on the state level, such as Rep. Lake Ray, assert that the lack of state funding commitment thus far isn’t that significant.
The $10 million thus far, Ray said, is “a statement that we are in the game.”
A problem: Even that $10 million is contingent on federal funding.
The dredge is clearly a priority of local officials. Mayor Lenny Curry eliminated the dredging task force in August, which was controversial to some observers.
Ray, shortly after that, said that Curry’s moves were in part motivated by the lack of consensus on the task force, which he said was emblematic of a “lack of leadership on the local level.”
Will Curry’s brand of leadership translate into a meaningful federal and state buy in? That will be a story to watch in the coming months, as Curry attempts to execute his vision to parlay Jacksonville’s infrastructural advantages, which include rails, interstates, and the port, into providing the impetus for Jacksonville’s, and Northeast Florida’s, growth in the coming years.
