03/19/2007

Associated Press

The Bush administration is doubling the amount of money it is spending this year on a project to deepen 103 miles of the Columbia River, an Oregon congressman said Monday.

A spokesman for Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said the White House will announce this week that it is spending $30 million in the current budget year for the dredging project, up from $15 million initially approved by Congress.

The additional money will be spent by Sept. 30 and will allow work to continue on the project at a faster pace, Walden's office said.

"It's very good news," said Andrew Whelan, a spokesman for Walden. He called the deepening project essential for the economy of Oregon and Washington and said it will keep regional ports competitive with ports in Asia and other areas of the United States.

A spokeswoman for the White House budget office confirmed Whelan's account and said a formal announcement will be made later this week.

The dredging project, which began in 2005, is designed to give new, larger oceangoing vessels access to Portland, Ore., and other ports, helping them compete for Pacific Rim business. The project will deepen the river channel by 3 feet from Astoria, Ore., to Vancouver, Wash.

Matt Rabe, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in Portland, which oversees the project, said Monday that he had heard there will be an announcement this week but did not know details.

The deepening project is about 40 percent complete, Rabe said, with work on the project expected to be finished in late 2009 or early 2010.