Vice President Joe Biden says the US is in danger of being left behind when it comes to transportation infrastructure.

The Vice President promised dockworkers in Savannah on Monday that the harbor will be deepened.

Biden said the $652 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will happen "come hell or high water."

Biden spoke to several hundred dignitaries gathered dockside.

He spoke for 25 minutes about how investing in transportation can lead to a reinvigorated economy.

Then he addressed the 17 years it's been since Georgia has been seeking the permits for a deeper Savannah harbor.

"I'm sick and tired of us standing back and not catching up with the rest of the world," Biden says. "We had the finest infrastructure in the world."

Biden says ports in Asia now rival those of the US.

The timeline is becoming even more critical for Georgia officials with each passing year.

A Panama Canal expansion project is expected to send huge new ships to East Coast ports in about two years.

"Folks, look, it's time we get moving," Biden says. "I'm sick of this stuff. It's time we go. And folks, this is not a partisan issue. It's an economic issue."

Biden, a Democrat, was joined on stage by Georgia's two Republican US Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, along with US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

"We're this close to digging 47 feet and bringing in the Panamax ships for the 21st Century and keeping the Port of Savannah where it always is, Number One in America," says US Senator Johnny Isakson

Biden was scheduled to visit Panama after his stop in Savannah.

"We now stand on the cusp of being able to enter into our partnership agreement with the Corps of Engineers, which will be the next step before we put a shovel in the ground," says US Senator Saxby Chambliss.

Before coming to Savannah, Vice President Biden was at the Port of Charleston.

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