Gov. Nathan Deal announced today he will put into his budget request for next year the remaining $35 million of the state’s share of the deepening of the Savannah River shipping channel.

That will bring the state’s commitment from past years to $266 million for 40 percent of the cost of the massive project. The federal government is expected to come up with the remaining 60 percent.

“We will all be exerting pressure to get the federal government to begin to fund their portion of the cost of the project,” he said.

The federal government still must ante up, although both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been to Savannah and endorsed the project.

Read More