OCEANAIR was honored and proud to attend the kick-off celebration of the Boston Harbor Dredging Project. Since the colonial era, the Port of Boston has played a vital role in the economy on both the local and national levels. For the port to succeed in the future, it needed some significant investments in its infrastructure. Now that this dredging project is coming to fruition, Boston remains relevant as a regular stop for Ocean Carriers. With the deepening of the harbor to allow for larger vessels and more container traffic, the Port of Boston will have long-term economic competitiveness, create more jobs, and improve the efficient passage of goods. The Port of Boston should double the number of containers arriving at the terminal because of this project. By encouraging larger vessels to make port in Boston, the city would become more of a Port City than it already is.
Some notable attendees at the event were Governor Baker, Massachusetts Senators Markey and Warren, along with state and local officials, and the administration at the Conley Terminal and the Port of Boston. It was refreshing to see this project come to fruition thanks to the bipartisan effort of the state’s elected officials and industry partners to secure the appropriation of the federal funding for the project. The port expects to receive $18.2 million in the Army Corps’ 2017 work plan, as well as $58 million in the President’s proposed 2018 budget. These funds add to other federal commitments to Conley Terminal and the Port of Boston as the project received $42 million from the FASTLANE Grant and $12 million to maintain and dredge the inner harbor.
