Massport considering massive harbor dredging project

The Massachusetts Port Authority wants to deepen the 11-mile shipping channel into Boston Harbor another five to 10 feet to accommodate large cargo shops, a project that would move almost 60 percent as much dirt as the Big Dig. Mike Leone, Boston’s port director, told The Boston Globe that the city’s 40 foot deep channel puts it at a competitive disadvantage. “The next generation is coming in deeper,” he said. Massport and the Army Corps of Engineers have nearly completed a four year, $4 million study on the economic feasibility of digging through five to 10 feet of rock and clay to deepen the channel to 45 to 50 feet.