Archives



Business, Freight News, Sea


USDOT Announces Over $220 Million in Grants for America’s Ports

[ October 21, 2020   //   ]

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on October 15 the award of more than $220 million in discretionary grant funding to improve port facilities in 16 states and territories through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program.

“This $220 million in federal grants will improve America’s ports with nearly half the projects are located in Opportunity Zones, which were established to revitalize economically distressed communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

U.S. maritime ports are critical links in the U.S. domestic and international trade supply chain and this funding will assist in the improvement of port facilities at or near coastal seaports. The Port Infrastructure Development Program aims to support efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve facility and freight infrastructure to ensure our nation’s freight transportation needs, present and future, are met. The program provides planning, operational and capital financing, and project management assistance to improve their capacity and efficiency.

Of the 18 projects that were awarded grants, eight are located in Opportunity Zones, which were created to revitalize economically distressed communities using private investments.

“This critical investment demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to supporting our nation’s ports and maritime industry,” said Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby. “These grants will help our nation’s economy and ensure that America’s ports can continue to operate effectively in the competitive global marketplace.”

Ports provide countless jobs for Americans and are key to a nation that heavily relies on its maritime services. By providing the funding to support the improvement of this critical infrastructure component, MARAD and the Department of Transportation are ensuring these services will succeed during the nation’s ongoing economic recovery.

A complete list of grant recipients is below:

Seward, Alaska
Marine Terminal Freight Dock & Corridor Improvements (awarded $19,779,425)
The project will expand the existing dock by approximately 375 feet to deeper water to accommodate growing freight cargoes and to minimize operational conflicts between freight and cruise movements, both onshore and in the harbor. The Corridor Improvement Project component will create a roadway connection between the Freight Dock and the existing Airport Road, allowing improving safety between onshore freight movements and cruise passenger pedestrian movements.

Los Angeles, California
SR 47-Vincent Thomas Bridge & Harbor Boulevard-Front Street Interchange Improvement Project (awarded : $9,880,000)
This grant will help reduce delays and accidents at the Port of Los Angeles. The project interchange directly serves two container terminals, which handle approximately 5% of all waterborne containers entering/exiting the U.S. About 40% of all U.S. imports and 25% of all U.S. exports move through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This project is in an Opportunity Zone.

Palm Beach, Florida
On-dock Rail Facility Development (awarded $13,224,090)
The project will construct an intermodal container transfer facility on-dock, capable of serving multiple berthed vessels simultaneously. The completion of this project is critical to addressing the major challenge to the Port’s realizing its maximum container throughput and reaching its full potential as a regional economic engine with minimal negative impact on the regional highway network.

Tags: