Port of Oakland officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a $640 million design agreement Thursday for a project that will allow modern, ultra-large container ships to maneuver safely and with more frequency out of the port.
When completed in 2030, the U.S. Army Corps project will widen the estuary between Oakland and Alameda and expand both the inner and outer harbor turning basins used by large ships to turn around. Local leaders said that expansion was key to modernizing the port’s infrastructure, maintaining its competitiveness against West Coast ports and will protect jobs at the key trade hub.
As modern trade ships grow larger to increase efficiency when transporting goods, the Port of Oakland’s turning basins have become small in comparison…