The Alabama Port Authority announced that the project to make the Port of Mobile the deepest port in the Gulf of Mexico is in its sixth and final phase.
The widening and deepening project has been underway since May 2021 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
"Once complete, this project will provide a major advantage to shippers, creating even more opportunity for economic development, not just in Mobile but across our state and region," said Alabama Port Authority director and CEO John Driscoll. "Beyond the economic impact, the Port is proud to have committed 100% of usable material from the channel to support environmentally beneficial projects throughout the Mobile Bay area, all of which are great examples of what can be accomplished when we work together."
The Mobile Baykeepers have been in talks with the Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over concerns with maintenance dredging. They want materials removed over the next 20 years to be used for beneficial use projects.
The original dredging materials have been used in three beneficial projects: the Dauphin Island Causeway, Deer River and Relic Shell. Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said maintenance materials will also be used in the future.
"Dauphin Island benefits not only from the Port's economic impact but also from the environmentally beneficial use of material from projects like the deepening and widening," said Collier. "With the breakwaters complete and thanks to a partnership between Mobile County, the Port, and the Corps, the shoreline restoration of our causeway — which is the only way on or off Dauphin Island by road — is now ready to take material from phase six of the harbor project. Separately, we plan to continue working with the Corps on beach replenishment efforts using material dredged from regular ship channel maintenance."
The broader and deeper port will bring more economic opportunities to the state and the United States.
"After vessels transit the Panama Canal, we expect Mobile to be the first port of call in the Gulf because of our 50-foot depth," said chief commercial officer Beth Branch. "This means more cargo will be offloaded in Alabama, and then the vessels will go on to more shallow Gulf ports."
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