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Dive brief:
- The DOT on Friday awarded $653 million in grants to upgrade 41 water ports all over the country Funding is through the Port Infrastructure Development Program, which provides planning support, capital financing and project management assistance, and comes from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- According to the DOT press release, the projects will increase capacity and efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland river ports and allow them to meet increased shipping demands. Supply chain issues were a major concern for builders this year.
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the goal of the projects is improve port infrastructures so they can withstand the kinds of shocks seen during the pandemic that wrecked supply chains, AP News reported.
Diving knowledge:
The nation has more than 300 coastal and inland ports get a B- rating of the American Society of Civil Engineers, meaning they are adequate for now, but require attention. While port funding has increased in recent years, there is still a gap of more than $12 billion for waterfront infrastructure such as dredging over the next decade, and thousands of million more for inland port infrastructure, according to ASCE.
The IIJA’s total of $17 billion in investments are the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in the country, according to the DOT, and are key to strengthening supply chain reliability.
“Modernizing the nation’s port infrastructure is vital to strengthening America’s multimodal system for transporting goods. The benefits of waterborne cargo movement extend far beyond the maritime domain,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said in the press release.
Some of the projects selected to receive grants include:
- $54.2 million for the expansion of the Husky Port One terminal in Tacoma, Washington.
- $52.6 million for the North Harbor Transportation System Improvement Project in Long Beach, California.
- $43.4 million for pier infrastructure replacement in Cold Bay, Alaska.
- $32 million to rebuild Berth PN-308 at Port Newark in Newark, New Jersey.
- $16 million for the Velasco Terminal Sustainable Expansion Project in Freeport, Texas.
While much of the new money will fund major projects, $172.8 million is dedicated to 26 small ports. According to ASCE, smaller, inland ports have particular difficulty maintaining their infrastructure and competing for federal grants.
The projects were selected based on their ability to improve the safety, efficiency or reliability of freight movement, as well as the extent to which they would improve port resiliency, according to the DOT press release. The full list of awards can be found at the DOT Maritime Administration page here.
