The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. This funding is designed to improve port facilities at or near coastal seaports.
The Port Infrastructure Development Program supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to upgrade facility and freight infrastructure, to ensure US’s freight transportation needs, present and future, are met.
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The program provides capital financing and project management assistance to improve port capacity and efficiency. Of the 15 projects that were awarded grants, six are located in Opportunity Zones, which were created to revitalize economically distressed communities using private investments.
The US depends heavily on its maritime services and infrastructure. According to MARAD, improving these facilities benefits the American economy and increases the capacity and efficiency of transportation and supply network nationwide.
A complete list of grant recipients follows below:
- Port of Alaska Modernization Program (awarded $20,000,000): This grant will be used to support the construction of a new petroleum and cement marine terminal.
- Alameda Corridor South Access: Terminal Island Rail Junction Project (awarded $14,500,000): This grant will be used to improve the capacity at the Terminal Island Wye rail junction by constructing and replacing rails and siding that will improve the efficiency of rail operations.
- Port of Los Angeles Multimodal Freight Network Improvement Program: Fenix Container Terminal Intermodal Railyard Expansion and Modernization Project (awarded $18,184,743): The grant will be used to increase the capacity of the existing on-dock railyard by adding 11,500 linear feet of track.
- Port Canaveral Cargo Berth Rehabilitation and Modernization Project (awarded $14,100,000): This grant will be used to bring the facility into a state of good repair by completing several construction projects that will improve its resiliency.
- PortMiami Cargo Yard Resiliency Improvements and Fumigation and Cold Chain Processing Center Project (awarded $43,928,393) (Opportunity Zone): This grant will be used to supplement PortMiami infrastructure improvements to upgrade drainage and resiliency methods, along with the reorganization of cargo containers.
- Container Berth 1 Realignment (awarded $34,600,000): The grants will be used to realign the Port of Savannah’s easternmost berth to enable the berth to receive 14,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) container ships.
- Globalplex Multi-Modal Connections Project (awarded $13,410,662): The grant will be used to add multimodal connections and enhance the operation efficiency of Globalplex, a public port with a 335-acre maritime industrial park.
- Duluth Port Logistics Hub 2020 Revitalization and Expansion (awarded $10,500,000) (Opportunity Zone): The grant will be used to fund the construction of a rail-served warehouse and rehabilitate more than 1,700 linear feet of failing wharf walls at multiple berths inside of the port.
- Port of Gulfport Access Project (awarded $15,760,000) (Opportunity Zone): This grant will be used to improve the roadways leading to and from the entrance to the port, which serves all freight and military cargo.
- Port of Cleveland’s Dock 24 and 26 Master Modernization and Rehabilitation Project (awarded $11,000,000) (Opportunity Zone): The grant will be used to rehabilitate two of the port’s main docks, which promote regional exports and improve operations and safety activities.
- Port of Toledo Intermodal Project (awarded $16,000,000) (Opportunity Zone): The grant will be used to reconstruct and upgrade the dock at Midwest Terminals Facility 1 at the port, as well as to develop a liquid transloading facility.
- Wando Welch Terminal Wharf Toe Wall and Berth Deepening Project (awarded $19,986,000): The grant will be used to construct an underwater retaining wall and deepen three berths at the terminal to enable the facility to handle larger container ships.
- Avery Point Public Oil Docks Redevelopment (awarded $17,600,000) (Opportunity Zone): This grant will be used to fund Phase 1 of the Port of Corpus Christi’s plan to refurbish docks at the Avery Point terminal that is used by a number of the port’s customers to transload petroleum products.
- Bayport Terminal Intermodal Expansion to Meet Demand Project (awarded $21,840,000): The grant will be used to develop 1,000 linear feet of green space site into a wharf at the Bayport Terminal at the Port of Houston.
- Agricultural Maritime Export Facility (awarded $15,893,543): The grant will be used to develop an under-utilized parcel of land at the port into an export facility for agricultural commodities.