City of Salisbury making progress with river port feasibility study
SALISBURY, Md. – For a number of years now, Salisbury city leaders have discussed building a new port facility along the Wicomico River in order to boost the local economy. Tonight they are one step closer to making that dream a reality. Monday, City Council members approved a $7,000 dollar contribution from the Salisbury Wicomico Metropolitan Planning Organization toward the feasibility study into the potential port.
The bid for the study was awarded to CPCS Transcom Inc. back in October. “They have hit the ground running. We’re looking forward to hosting our committee meetings and reaching out to some of the stakeholders in the community that would benefit from a multi user port,” said Salisbury Business Development Director Laura Soper.
Salisbury City Council President Jack Heath says the progress is exciting, and could promise a bright horizon for the local economy. “It reminds me of when we started developing the downtown master plan. You’re at that point where you want to go and you’ve got to get all the groundwork done,” said Heath.
If the study comes back bearing a green light for the project, Heath says it could open up the door for Salisbury to get involved in projects that would have statewide impact. For example, he says Salisbury could play a role in offshore wind projects playing out off the coast of Maryland. “This opens it up to a lot of things and ties in very well with the wind projects. We could become the major source and distribution for turbines and the like,” said Heath.
Heath adds the port would bring job opportunities, as well as make importing and exporting goods easier and possibly cheaper for local businesses. Heath says the port would help put Salisbury back on the map when it comes to industry and economic opportunity. “We’re the second largest port in the state of Maryland. But people don’t realize that we are,” said Heath.
Soper agrees with Heath when it comes to the prospect of bringing an economic boost to Delmarva with the port. “We’d love to see some more products manufactured in Delmarva or in Salisbury, and exported out,” said Soper.
Right now, Soper says the study is prioritizing details like where exactly the port would be constructed, and how much it would cost. “The number one thing we’ll be looking at is what the financial investment in this sort of infrastructure would be and how it would be operated,” said Soper.
Heath says the city is expecting the feasibility study to be complete sometime in June of this year. He tells 47ABC once they have that report in hand, city leaders will know once and for all if the port can be constructed.
