May 2023
FACT SHEET
Miami Harbor Channel (Deepening), FL
Construction (C)
Congressional Districts: 24, 26, 27, 28
1. DESCRIPTION
The current project construction of deepening the outer channel from 44 feet to 52 feet, and the inner channel from 42 feet to 50 feet with widening was completed in 2015. Fisherman’s Channel was widened to the south by 100 feet and a turn widener was constructed at the southern confluence of the main outer channel and the inner channels. Fisherman’s Channel terminates in a turning basin centered on the existing Lummus Island turning basin. The turning basin now has a depth of 50 feet and a diameter of 1,500 feet. The North Channel contains the cruise ship berths and has a current depth of 36 feet.
2. FUNDING
| Estimated Total Cost |
$235,00,000 |
| Estimated Federal Cost |
$108,700,000 |
| Allocation thru FY22 |
$3,023,000 |
| Allocation for FY23 |
$0 |
| President’s Budget FY24 |
$0 |
3. SPONSOR
Port Miami
1015 North American Way, 2nd Floor
Miami, FL 33132
4. STATUS
Construction is officially completed on the Miami Harbor Deepening and Widening Project. The project began in October 2013 and was completed in September 2015 with the removal of over 5,000,000 cubic yards of material. This project marked the first major port deepening to -50 ft Mean Lower Low Water in the southeastern United States. Along with deepening, mitigation construction was also completed (over 12 acres of artificial reef and 17 acres of seagrass beds). The alternative financing Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) allowed for the non-federal sponsor to advance the entire federal share of the project, thereby advancing the completion of construction years ahead of schedule. Secondary project related impacts via sedimentation to adjacent benthic habitat are still being analyzed. A concluding assessment of project-related impacts are confounded by the documented catastrophic and regional-scale coral bleaching/disease outbreak that started in the fall of 2014. The port and pilots have recently expressed plans for additional cruise berths and the accommodation of 14,000 TEU vessels. The current Miami Channel was designed and built to accommodate the Susan Maersk 8,000 TEU vessel.
