Panama Canal Expansion Could be a Chance for Increased Paducah Port Traffic

Discussion at this morning’s Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Power in Partnership breakfast focused on benefits western Kentucky ports will see with the expansion of the Panama Canal. 

Chamber President Elaine Spalding says Paducah’s port should coordinate with the port in Mobile, Alabama, to make sure both can accommodate larger shipping vessels in the future. Alabama Port Authority Vice-President Mark Sheppard says the Port of Mobile has already worked to accommodate the expected increase in traffic.

“What, really, I wanted to do was talk about what we’ve done at the port and our cargo handling capabilities and the investments we’ve made in the port in the past 15 years, which is probably about $750 million that we’ve done and we’re continuing to do.”

The expansion is set to be completed in the next few years, but Sheppard says construction could take longer than expected.