Halmos Dean Part of Port Everglades Action Team

Early this February, Halmos College Dean Richard Dodge, Ph.D., a member of the Port Everglades Action Team, joined federal, state and local elected officials and other local business leaders today to welcome the news that Broward County’s long-awaited Port Everglades Navigation Improvements Project to deepen and widen the Port’s navigational channels can now begin with $29.1 million in funding under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FY 2020 Work Plan. The funding will be used to build a new facility for the U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale so the Intracoastal Waterway can be widened by 250 feet at a chokepoint where large Neo-Panamax cargo ships currently have operating restrictions that affect their ability to transit past docked cruise ships. The Coast Guard Station reconfiguration is the first phase of the larger dredging project.

The Port’s Navigation Improvements Project is anticipated to create an estimated 2,200 construction jobs and nearly 1,500 additional permanent direct jobs locally resulting from additional cargo capacity.

“This is a bi-partisan effort to make our navigation channels safer, globally competitive and environmental progressive. I applaud our Congressional Delegation for making this project a priority and recognizing the needs of our community,” said Glenn Wiltshire, Port Everglades Acting Chief Executive and Port Director. “Addressing this chokepoint is a critical step to widening the Intracoastal Waterway so cargo ships are able to transit to and from the southern part of the Port.”