New York’s first industry is prepping for its next act.
The Bayonne Bridge is being raised, the seabed in the Kill Van Kull beneath it is getting lowered, and the city is boring 100 feet underground with a 110-ton machine — all in preparation for the 2014 opening of the newly expanded Panama Canal, which will steer larger vessels into the port.
“We’re going to start seeing a big increase in marine traffic that used to go to Los Angeles,” said Regional Plan Association President Bob Yaro. “This is all about allowing New York City to accommodate bigger and taller ships.”
The expansion is expected to double the number of ships coming through.
“If New York is to compete with Charleston and Baltimore for that traffic, these improvements are essential,” said Yaro. “There are literally hundreds of thousands of jobs in related trucking and port jobs. The last thing we want is to lose those.”
Shipping might not be as sexy a New York industry as Wall Street or fashion, but it remains an economic engine for the city, generating 269,900 jobs and about $11 billion in annual wages, according to a New York Shipping Association study.
“The port is the oldest economic foundation for New York,” Yaro said, “and will continue to be.”