The under secretary of the army was here this week, the vice president tours the port 10 days from now and a Washington-based consulting firm has ranked Georgia Ports’ deepening project high on its list of the 100 infrastructure projects that would most help the U.S. regain its competitiveness.
Have the stars finally aligned to get the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project off the drawing board and onto the dredge?
It’s beginning to look that way.
Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal toured Georgia Port Authority’s Garden City Terminal Wednesday, proclaiming its $650 million civil works project to deepen the river channel from 42 to 47 feet crucial to the nation’s economic recovery.
A deepened harbor “will create jobs, help small businesses and strengthen our ability to move products,” Westphal said, adding that “Congress and the president wouldn’t be making this kind of investment if this deepening wasn’t vital to our economy.”
Ten days from now, Vice President Joe Biden is expected to echo that sentiment as he takes a turn at our container port before heading south to get a firsthand look at progress on the expanding Panama Canal.
Meanwhile, as the Water Resources Development Act — which will allow for funding the project at its current cost — makes its way through Congress, the Washington-based consulting firm CG/LA Infrastructure released its list of the 100 current infrastructure projects it says would most help the U.S. regain its competitiveness.
High on that list is the Savannah Harbor Deepening, which the Corps projects to bring $174 million in annualized net benefits to the country, a benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.5 to 1.
‘Fish’ on mend
One of the best things the Savannah maritime community has heard in a long time was the news earlier this week that David “Fish” Mihuta is home from the hospital and on the mend after some scary intestinal issues.
Mihuta, a sales rep for Freightliner of Savannah, has been a leader for years in local logistics.
He’s a former president of the Savannah Traffic Club and part of the brain trust behind the successful “Follow the Container” program that has grown into the Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce to help young people learn about career opportunities in the field.
Described by his friend Billy Robinson of Port City Logistics as “someone who always puts others first, a guy who will give you the shirt off his back long before you asked,” Mihuta and his family have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of concern during his months-long ordeal.
“It’s so wonderful to have him back home after this last 40-day stint,” said his wife, Teresa. “It’s been so scary to watch this active, healthy man go from a robust 208 pounds to 161. We almost lost him twice in surgery.
“To see him now is truly a miracle, one we believe has come from all the prayers in the community.”
Needless to say, the Mihutas are staring down a mountain of medical bills. If you’d like to help, go by any Wells Fargo branch to donate to the David “Fish” Mihuta fund, or you can send a check — with “Fish Fund” on the memo line — to Savannah Maritime After Hours, P.O. Box 2514, Savannah, GA 31402.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.