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Hofschneider meets with USACE on needs of Tinian, Rota harbors
Lt. Gov. Jude U. Hofschneider met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday, June 24, 2014, for a courtesy visit and had the chance to discuss with them the issues surrounding the Tinian and Rota harbors.
This is the second time Hofschneider met with USACE this year as part of his continuing effort to improve the harbors on the two islands. Present at the meeting was USACE Division Commander MG Rick Stevens who, before meeting with Hofschneider, visited the Tinian harbor to witness the condition of the island’s breakwater.
Lt. Gov. Jude U. Hofschneider, left, with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Division Commander MG Rick Stevens. (Contributed Photo)
“The harbor on Tinian plays a key role in its economy. With the island’s constant shipping needs—and its potential future use by the island’s tourism industry and the U.S. military—it is necessary to have a proper and functional marina,” explained Hofschneider. “A feasibility study for the harbor’s finger piers will soon be underway, and will bring us one step closer to its eventual rehabilitation.”
“But before we can make any improvements, we must first make sure the breakwater is in place—an expensive but necessary task,” he said. “Fixing it is really the only long term solution. Otherwise, the inner harbor will remain unprotected and we will continue having the same problems.”
Hofschneider stated that it was a productive meeting, as USACE offered a cost-share agreement with the local government to put the Tinian and Rota harbor improvements into their planning stage—saving the government millions of dollars needed for this effort. Moving forward, Hofschneider will meet with the Tinian and Rota Leaderships to discuss the possibility of providing that needed support through capital improvement project funds. (PR)
