The long-delayed expansion of the Port of Charleston is suddenly getting a high-level, last-minute push from two of South Carolina's most powerful lawmakers and the Columbia business lobby.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, the Florence Republican who oversees the Senate finance committee, said Wednesday the state needs to find a way to pay for an access road that would link Interstate 26 with a $600 million container terminal being proposed for the former Navy base in North Charleston.

The road project alone is estimated to cost $250 million to $300 million.

"How will we fund that? I'm not sure, but somehow it must be funded," Leatherman said at a meeting of the South Carolina District Export Council. "This port is too important to the economy of this state."

At the same event, House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, sent a warning to Jasper County, which has been fighting the State Ports Authority in court over the right to build a container terminal on the Savannah River. Harrell made the SPA's day by saying the other side needs to back down. "I intend to push that as my position when we get back in the General Assembly this coming session," he said.

The support from Leatherman and Harrell was echoed by representatives of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, two influential pro-business groups.

The lawmakers and the lobbyists agreed that the stakes are high.

The Port of Charleston, which supports 280,000 jobs statewide and attracts billions of dollars in trade and investment to South Carolina, is coming under increased pressure from industry rivals that are adding more ship berths and container terminals, such as Savannah and Jacksonville.

"Our port is reaching capacity,' said Emerson Gower, a Progress Energy executive and chairman of the South Carolina Chamber. "It hurts our shippers and it hurts those who are receiving goods."

The rallying cries were in sharp contrast to the days when the SPA was seeking approval to develop its massive Global Gateway terminal on Daniel Island. That ambitious proposal met stiff political and community opposition. Lawmakers ultimately told the agency to grow the port elsewhere.

The SPA then cut a deal with North Charleston that would allow it to build three berths on the old Navy base. All that's holding up the construction now is one permit, which is widely expected to be issued in April, and the money for the access road.

"I'm more optimistic than I've ever been that we're on the doorstep of getting a permit," said Bernard S. Groseclose, the SPA's chief executive.

The new road, which is required under a legal agreement, is another issue. Groseclose said his agency plans to invest $200 million next year on the first phase of the Navy base terminal.

Looking beyond the North Charleston project, Harrell said he plans to end the legal bickering between the SPA and Jasper County over the right to build a port on the Savannah River..

"The state is going to have to decide who has the authority to do that and ... make sure the port gets done," Harrell said. "If we don't, we'll be having the same discussion 10 or 15 years from now."

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.