NYC's long-declining waterfront industry is expected to experience a new boom time, as the expansion of the Panama Canal will allow double the cargo and much larger ships to call at New York's harbor by 2024.
John Farley reports how a key vote in Panama held six years ago will impact shipping across North America, and necessitate massive infrastructure investments in New York, including the $1 billion dredging of the Hudson River, the $1 billion raising of the Bayonne Bridge, and the $250 million relocation of siphons used to supply emergency drinking water to Staten Island.
"In 2006, Panamanian voters approved a massive plan to double the shipping capacity of the Panama Canal. The expansion will allow an influx of large, post-Panamax container ships (Panamax refers to the size limit of ships that currently pass through the canal) to travel up the eastern seaboard. The problem is, only the ports in Miami and Norfolk, VA, are able to handle these types of ships on the east coast. Other ports, including the those overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, are working fast to update their harbor infrastructure to accommodate these ships. When the big ships come in, starting in 2014, the long-declining waterfront industry is expected to experience a new boom time."
Thanks to Charnee Perez
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