Putnam takes first step toward expanding Port of Palatka (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Putnam County is embarking on a roughly $300,000 study that could lead to the expansion of the Port of Palatka.
The study comes after the Florida Legislature added the port to the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council, making it eligible to receive state grants and federal funding.
The Council is made up of representatives from each of the state’s 15 public seaports as well as the Department of Economic Opportunity and the Florida Department of Transportation. Palatka, along the St. Johns River, is home to the Putnam County Barge Port. The port is located about 60 miles upstream from Jacksonville and is accessible by CSX rail line and U.S. Highway 17.
The study, being done in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers, will look at dredging an access channel from the St. Johns River Channel to the barge berth in Palatka, which was built in 1961. The berth and channel have a depth of about six to seven feet, making it unaccessible for many types of cargo.
With the current water depth, the port can only accommodate small cargo rather than fully loaded barges. With deeper water, the port could accommodate a broader range of cargo, said Rick Ferrin of TransSystems, who was under contract with the county to assist in moving through the process of the small dredging project with the Army Corps of Engineers.
The goal of the study is to create a report due next year that would lay out the economic and operational feasibility of the port and barge berth if the channel is dredged. The ultimate goal is to expand the scope and reach of the Putnam Port with broader accessibility to the barge berth.
With the report, the county aims to justify deepening the channel to roughly 12 feet to accommodate barges carrying break bulk materials and containers, along with the export and import of agriculture and automobiles.
“We are in the hub of many counties, and we would have one of the only inland ports around that would be viable to our economic development,” Putnam County Commissioner Larry Harvey told the Business Journal.
Some employers in the county use the small port already, but recognition and growth on a larger scale would help enhance the entire county by enhancing the port, Harvey said.
“It’s hard for rural Florida to compete in some areas…what we’re asking for is just to allow us the ability to bring inwhat we can, what can fit with us, what works, and take a few crumbs off the table, if you will — to help our economic development here in Putnam County,” Harvey said.
With its current location, deepening the area would not allow allow for more cargo, but also more usage by major companies surrounding the barge berth.
“You’ve got Georgia Pacific right there, you’ve got Veritas Steel right there at the port. There’s a number of major operations there in Palatka and in Putnam County that would be users of that port if it were viable,” Ferrin said.
The expansion would also mean more job availability for the community, which is vital for economic growth in the area that is historically disadvantaged.
“If you look at Palatka and if you look at Putnam County, it’s financially challenged. Their unemployment rate is high, higher than probably the state average. Per capita income is pretty low, family income is pretty low,” Ferrin said. “They need something like this port to provide them with jobs that pay a lot more than what your median family or per capita income is.”
The expansion, Harvey said, would tap into Putnam’s history of being involved with maritime trade.
“This is not something new,” he said. “It’s just something reinvented.”
Photo courtesy of Florida Politics