Final phase of Mobile Harbor Modernization Project under way

The Alabama Port Authority has started the sixth and final phase of a project that will make the Port of Mobile the deepest in the Gulf of Mexico, along with providing several environmental benefits.

“Beyond the economic impact, the port is proud to have committed 100% of usable material from the channel to support environmentally beneficial projects throughout the Mobile Bay area, all of which are great examples of what can be accomplished when we work together,” says John Driscoll, the port’s director and CEO.

Dredged materials are being used to restore shoreline along the Dauphin Island Causeway, create marsh and  fortify shoreline along Deer River, and fill in Mobile Bay’s over-mined Relic Shell area.

All three of the environmentally beneficial projects were identified during the extensive research and design phase of the Mobile Harbor Deepening and Widening Project conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and detailed in its General Re-evaluation Report.

When completed next year, the project will give the Port of Mobile a depth of 50 feet (15.2 metres) and introduce additional fluidity with a three-mile (4.8-kilometre) passing lane for post-Panamax class vessels. The Port of Mobile is then expected to become the first port of call after ships transit the Panama Canal with increased cargo offloaded at the port onto smaller vessels for shipment to shallower Gulf destinations.