An update on the need for and status of a deeper Charleston port

Image by Flickr user roger4336 Graham addresses Congress over his plan.

With a $150,000 study underway looking into deepening the Charleston Harbor to more than 45 feet, the deepening of the Panama Canal continues to a mid-2014 completion.

And once that happens, a Charleston port that doesn't boast of a 50-foot depth will be at a competitive disadvantage. 

However the study on deepening the port could take anywhere from two to eight years, and after that a recommendation will be made regarding how deep to dredge the Charleston Harbor — it's a timeline that's not great for Charleston.

With the S.C. International Trade Conference underway on Isle of Palms, The Post and Courier used the chance to catch up with the head of the Panama Canal Authority on the need for greater depths.

You can read the paper's report on those comments — and the latest on the status of the study of the Charleston Harbor — over here.

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