SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Savannah River has enough room for cargo ships to accommodate Georgia and South Carolina adding a new port terminal downstream from the busy Port of Savannah, according to a study presented to officials from both states Monday.
For years, the neighboring states have worked slowly toward building a jointly owned, $3 billion shipping terminal on 1,500 acres in Jasper County, South Carolina, just across the river from Savannah. The South Carolina delegation had been reluctant to move forward without determining if a second port could function without causing traffic jams on the water.
Engineering consultants told the joint port board, meeting Monday for the first time since May, that they developed models to estimate ship traffic in the river channel in the year 2049. They looked at traffic projections for the Port of Savannah alone, then with the addition of the Jasper County terminal. Their report concluded delays affecting ships likely would be slightly more frequent, and just a few minutes longer, with a second port on the river.
“The river is not going to shut down with the addition of the Jasper terminal,” said Michael Rieger, project manager for the consulting firm Moffatt & Nichol. “We can still get ships in and out, and the delays are just a little bit longer than what occurs today.”
The findings appeared to satisfy South Carolina members of the joint port board, who had previously expressed doubts that a plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to expand the Port of Savannah’s shipping channel and make room for larger cargo ships was insufficient to handle a second port terminal.