WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that officials say will improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program.
Improved truck scales at the Green Bay, Wisconsin, port and improved route access to the port of Camden, New Jersey, are among the projects that will impact trucking.
“The funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and additional Congressional appropriations, will benefit coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland river ports, helping improve supply chain reliability through increased port capacity and resilience, more efficient operations, reduced port emissions and new workforce opportunities,” according to a DOT news release. “Together, these investments will help get goods to shelves faster and lower costs for American families.”
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said of the funding: “So many of the goods we all count on, from appliances to furniture to clothes, move through our nation’s ports on their way to us. Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we’re awarding record levels of funding to improve our port infrastructure, strengthen our supply chains, and help cut costs for American families.”
DOT officials say that the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) “supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve port and related freight infrastructure to meet the nation’s freight transportation needs and ensure our port infrastructure can meet anticipated growth in freight volumes,” the news release stated.
The program provides planning, capital funding and project management assistance to improve ports’ capacity and efficiency. The PIDP provides funding to ports in both urban and rural areas for planning and capital projects. It also includes a statutory set-aside for small ports to continue to improve and expand their capacity to move freight reliably and efficiently and support local and regional economies.
More than 60% of the awards will be benefitting ports in historically disadvantaged communities and several of the projects will help reduce emissions at the ports through electrification, according to the DOT.
“Additionally, more than $150 million in awards include a focus on electrification of port equipment to reduce emissions and improve air quality,” the news release stated. “The awards also include nearly $100 million for port projects that will advance offshore wind deployment — in support of President Biden’s bold goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, which is enough to power 10 million homes with clean energy, support 77,000 jobs, and spur private investment up and down the supply chain.”
Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said the ultimate goal is modernizing the nation’s infrastructure.
This is “an unprecedented investment in all segments of our port infrastructure to enable us to move goods more quickly, strengthen supply chain resiliency, and reduce the climate impacts of port operations themselves,” Phillips said.
Select grants include:
The JAXPORT EXPRESS Project ($23,518,000)
Jacksonville, Florida
The project includes five primary components: Installation of electrified refrigerated container stacks; procurement of six hybrid-electric rubber-tired gantry cranes; procurement of 16 battery-electric forklifts, 10 battery-electric yard tractors and seven Tier 4 diesel top picks; installation of 15 high-power direct current fast charging stations and make-ready stub-outs; and development of a replaceable and scalable plan for transitioning the port and local maritime industry to zero-emission technologies.
Salem Wind Port Project ($33,835,953)
Salem, Massachusetts
The project will redevelop a vacant industrial facility into a marshalling area for offshore wind (OSW) energy projects. The project includes construction of a 700-foot-long wharf and bulkhead that will be able to handle oversized and heavy cargoes and will be able to serve as a loadout and assembly location. The project also includes improvements to approximately 23 acres of adjacent uplands to create a laydown area adjacent to the loadout and assembly space.
Project Steel Wheel – Columbus Dock Expansion ($6,123,225)
Columbus, Mississippi
The project includes design, engineering, construction and inspection of a new rail spur with approximately 10,000 linear feet of track and three transload docks that will provide direct rail access for transloading cargo between barges and railcars at the Lowndes County West Bank Port. The port does not currently have direct rail access and the new rail spur will connect the port terminal to an existing railroad line operated by Kansas City Southern (KCS).
Port of Camden Access and Infrastructure Resiliency Project ($25,000,000)
Camden, New Jersey
The project will upgrade a functionally obsolete and structurally deficient truck routes to improve access to the Port of Camden from Interstate 676 by reconstructing nearly three miles of key roadway infrastructure. Project elements include truck turning radius improvements, pavement reconstruction, resurfacing and reconstruction of curbs and sidewalks, new stormwater drainage and green infrastructure, sewer repairs, ADA ramps, traffic calming, new traffic signals and crosswalks, improved street lighting, striping, and new signage.
Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority ($27,223,711)
Cleveland, Ohio
The project consists of both development phase (planning, permitting, engineering, and design) and construction activities at the Port of Cleveland. It will modernize a 144,000-square-foot warehouse (Warehouse A); expand stormwater collection and treatment infrastructure; construct a modernized maintenance and repowering facility for terminal equipment; and install electric infrastructure to meet the power requirements of ship cold ironing and electrified cargo handling equipment.
Grays Harbor Terminal 4 Expansion & Redevelopment Project ($25,500,000)
Aberdeen, Washington
The project includes the construction of an additional 50,000 feet of rail to accommodate unit trains; railcar storage; the repurposing of a 50-acre brownfield site into a breakbulk cargo handling and laydown area; access and roadway improvements; replacement of marine terminal fendering systems; and related site improvements.
Port of Green Bay Site Development Project ($10,134,800)
Green Bay, Wisconsin
The project funds the first phase of redevelopment of a former power plant site into a new port terminal. The project includes the following components: engineering services; clearing and clean-up of the existing brownfield site; construction of new dock walls and bulkheads; dredging; placement of fill behind dock wall and bulkheads; construction of stormwater collection and treatment facilities; installation of bollards and crane pads; asphalt resurfacing; new roads and utilities; truck scales; construction of an office building; and repair and extension of a rail spur with installation of three switches.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
