Plans to make The Port of Virginia wider, deeper and safer took a significant step forward when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accepted the National Economic Development benefit plan on Friday.

The plan estimates the value of large civil works programs that will be funded, in part, by the federal government. The value of these programs is expressed in terms of each program’s contributions to NED benefits and revenues to the federal government.

“The long-term economic benefits of this project include job creation, economic investment and the efficient flow of goods to Virginians, to multiple markets in the Mid-Atlantic and into the nation’s heartland,” John F. Reinhart, chief executive officer and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, stated in the press release. “Additionally, there are benefits to the U.S. Navy and all the users of the harbor.”

The “wider, deeper, safer” project will move forward to its final review by the Army Corps in June. In anticipation of a positive outcome, $20 million has been included in the pending state budget to begin preliminary engineering and design work on the project.

The Port and the Army Corps’ Norfolk District office began collaborating on the project in June 2015 to prepare for the next generation of container vessels.

The port’s channels and harbor are already 50 feet deep, and with the largest container ships in the Atlantic trade calling on Virginia, deepening to 55 feet and widening the channel to 1,300 feet will enable these ships to load to their limits and allow for two-ship traffic, according to the press release.

“When one of the big vessels passes through the harbor today, there is a temporary closure of the channel to all other commercial ship traffic,” Reinhart stated. “Widening the channel allows for two-way traffic, increases the pace of commerce and makes way for the expeditious movement of Navy vessels in a time of need.”

When the $695 million expansion at Virginia International Gateway and Norfolk International Terminals is complete in 2020, the port’s annual container throughput capacity will have increased by 40 percent or 1 million container units, according to a recent press release.

The centerpieces of the expansion will be 86 rail-mounted gantry cranes built and delivered by Konecranes under a $217 million contract. The contract is the largest one-time order for RMGs in industry history.

A ship with the first bundle of six rail-mounted gantry cranes is set to arrive at the port this Thursday.