Delaware’s New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon received a political boost last week when the county council voted unanimously to spend $150,000 from county reserves to fund an environmental study at the Port of Wilmington.

Gordon wants to expand the port and increase commerce at the logistics hub best known for handling perishables and automobiles.

The council measure moves $150,000 in tax stabilization reserves to a line item for the county’s Office of Economic Development. Those funds will be combined with $150,000 committed by the City of Wilmington and an additional $200,000 from the State of Delaware.

The study being funded will determine the feasibility of extending a Port of Wilmington expansion to include land located south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which spans Delaware Bay between Delaware and New Jersey. Expanding the port in that direction will put it closer to the open ocean, providing logistics advantages to shippers and carriers.

Gordon’s plan is to expand the area used as a distribution hub by General Motors. Private investments of between $400 million and $600 million will be required to make the port expansion happen. Gordon foresees “jobs galore,” according to reporting from local news outlets, if the expansion comes to fruition.