The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is officially underway.

Lt. General Thomas Bostik, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made that announcement Thursday at the Georgia Ports Authority headquarters near Savannah.

“We were very fortunate that we were able to get funding and approval for the funding to move forward this year and great work is already started.”

The project will deepen the shipping channel by five feet, allowing larger ships with more cargo to stop at the Port of Savannah.

Three phases of the project underway include deepening the channel, raising the Civil War-era CSS Georgia battleship, and monitoring oxygen levels in the river. Dredging is set to begin in December.

Port director Cutis Foltz says they're also working to increase rail capacity.

“Our long term vision is to continue to shift the amount of volume moving through our ports to more of our cargo, or those containers moving on rail verse truck.”

Foltz says the Ports Authority has provided projections about future traffic volume related to the port expansion to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Tags: SHEP, Savannah, Savannah Port Expansion Project, GPB, gob savannah, Curtis Foltz, thomas bostik, Dredging