JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – The estimated cost of raising power lines near the Jacksonville Port Authority (JaxPort) has more than doubled, according to a new analysis.

The planned costs rose from around $45 million to over $105 million.

“The project to relocate JEA power lines across the St. Johns River is critical to JaxPort,” said Karen McAllister, JEA spokeswoman.

The lines are located east of the Blount Island Marine Terminal.

They are currently 175 feet above the water.

As News4JAX has previously reported, the Army Corps of Engineers said the bridges would need to be at least 20 feet higher to allow larger ships to pass.

News4JAX spoke with JaxPort’s Chief Communications Officer, who said extending the lines will allow more vessels requiring higher clearance to use Jacksonville’s deep shipping channel, bringing more jobs and economic stimulus to the region.

McAllister said the reason for the cost increase is because the Worley report was a feasibility study conducted to determine if the work could be done. The alternatives analysis provides a cost analysis of alternative construction approaches and includes various options ranging from $105 million to $190 million.

McAllister said JEA is choosing Option 5, called the “westernmost.”

This approach would involve building all lines west of existing lines to allow for construction by helicopter and limit access requirements.

Last year, the city approved a bill that provided $27 million for power line construction, including a loan to JaxPort. The Florida Department of Transportation also provided $22 million for the project.

In view of the price increase, News4JAX wanted to know who will have to pay for it.

“As I said, JEA wants to be part of the solution as we continue to provide reliable service to Northeast Florida,” McAllister said. “As I told you, that’s the most important thing I can tell you about our participation. We’re still working out a lot of details.”

McAllister could not comment further on the matter, but said the project was critical to economic growth.

JaxPort also sent a statement to News4JAX after we spoke with them on the phone earlier in the day:

“Elevating the power lines is critical to maximizing the return on investment from over $700 million in public and private investments made over the past few years to expand Jacksonville’s international container shipping capacity, including the recently completed port deepening project.

The trend in international trade is for shipping companies to build larger and taller vessels that require higher clearance. Increasing clearance will allow more of these vessels to use Jacksonville’s deepwater channel, resulting in more jobs and economic impact for Jacksonville. Together, the port deepening and power line raising will create or sustain 15,000 jobs, supported by the growth of Asian trade in JAXPORT.

JAXPORT is currently working with JEA to develop a plan to cover the updated project costs.”

News4JAX asked a follow-up question after receiving this statement, asking how long they think the plan will take to develop. We are still waiting for a response.

We also contacted the city. They sent a statement:

“The City of Jacksonville remains committed to ensuring JAXPORT has the infrastructure to continue to grow and remain a major contributor to Jacksonville’s economy. We are aware that JEA and JAXPORT are discussing a path forward and we await the outcome of those discussions.”