Landmark legislation paves the way for the Corpus Christi Channel Project December 23, 2020, by Zlatan Hrvacevic
Congress recently passed the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020, which provides authority for the Army Corps to carry out water resource development projects and studies.
The legislation also reforms and provides policy direction to the USACE for implementation of its civil works missions including navigation construction projects such as the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.
WRDA 2020 includes the Port of Corpus Christi’s high-priority reauthorization of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP) at an estimated increased project cost of $676 million ($404 million Federal cost share and $272 million Non-Federal cost share to the Port of Corpus Christi).
COVID stimulus package includes plan to speed up Cape Cod bridge replacement project
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
The $908 billion COVID stimulus package approved by Congress includes a plan to speed up the replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges connected Cape Cod to the rest of Massachusetts.
As part of the Water Resources Development Act, which is included in the more than 5,000-page bill, federal lawmakers are directing the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the replacement of the two bridges. The legislation notes that the two structures are more than 80 years old and are “structurally deficient.”
U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren commended the legislation for including several Massachusetts projects.
Wed December 23, 2020 - Northeast Edition
Cape Cod Times
Within the new $900 billion stimulus bill is the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, a piece of legislation involving water infrastructure around the country, including the Bourne and Sagamore bridges. (Merrilly Cassidy photo)
A commitment to the replacement of Massachusetts aging Cape Cod Canal bridges, along with federal transportation dollars, were tucked into the massive package of emergency relief, government funding and tax cuts approved by Congress on Dec. 20.
The replacement of the 85-year-old Bourne and Sagamore bridges was among 65 projects the Secretary of the Army would expedite to preconstruction planning, engineering and design, if justified, as part of the
December 23, 2020 By Jim Myers
Washington, D.C. Escaping a “chopping block,” the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA 2020) made it into a massive package Congress passed to fund the government and provide coronavirus relief to the American people.
“What a day this has been!” the National Waterways Conference (NWC) exclaimed in a news alert crediting the actions of its members with saving the popular legislation.
According to the NWC alert, the 11th-hour drama grew out of concerns over changes to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, a major goal for some.
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) hailed the inclusion of its “long-sought reforms to more fairly allocate and spend revenues from the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT).”
Tribune-Review
The project, still in the design phase, replaces a lock at Montgomery Lock and Dam, as well as Emsworth and Dashields locks and dams.
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Two key pieces of federal legislation could shave off years waiting to start construction of the Army Corps of Engineers $2.6 billion upper Ohio River project.
The project, still in the design phase, replaces a lock each at the Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and dams.
Recent legislation the omnibus appropriations and covid-19 relief funding package and the Water Resources Development Act provides more than $1 billion in additional construction dollars over 10 years that should reduce the backlog of inland waterway projects, according to the Waterways Council Inc., a national public policy organization advocating for modernization of the inland waterways.