Southport drops support for international port

An international port in Southport is looking less like a reality. Last night the Southport board of Aldermen voted three to two to rescind a 2006 resolution approving a DOT study.

The decision doesn’t kill the idea of a port entirely, but it has taken away the city’s unconditional support of the project requiring the Ports Authority to engage the city in future negotiations. Members of the grassroots organization NoPort Southport were hoping that would be the outcome of last night’s meeting.

“As we’ve collected the information over the last year and a half, we feel that we’ve made a good case that it won’t be good for Southport so we’re trying to convince them of that,” NoPort Southport’s Rhodes Messick said.

The estimated cost of the port is about $2.6 billion. Funding for the project would be a combination of federal and state funds.