On Nov. 3 The United States Department of Transportation awarded $653 million in grants to upgrade 41 water-based ports.
The $653 million comes from the historical $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure investment made by President Joe Biden in 2021.
DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters that supply chain challenges starting in 2021 drove up prices as the U.S. recovered from the pandemic.
“Everything from the food we eat to the cars we drive to the lumber and steel used to build our homes passes through America’s ports, making them some of the most critical links in our nation’s supply chain,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
“These investments will help expand capacity and speed up the movement of goods through our ports, contributing to cleaner air and more good-paying jobs as we go.”
Buttigieg said the goal of the projects is to improve the infrastructure for ports so that they can withstand the kinds of setbacks caused by the pandemic.
Projects include;
- Dock Infrastructure Replacement ($43,376,746) in Cold Bay, Alaska.
- North Harbor Transportation System Improvement Project ($52,633,331) Long Beach, California.
- Reconstruction of Berth PN-308 at Port Newark ($32,000,000) Newark, New Jersey.
- Ko’Kwel Wharf Improvements Project ($7,729,650) North Bend, Oregon.
- Port of Ogdensburg Terminal Expansion Project ($5,107,649) Ogdensburg, New York.
- Wabasha Barge Terminal Project ($2,545,297) Wabasha, Minnesota.
- North Gate Relocation and Access Optimization ($10,950,805) Wilmington, North Carolina.
- Port of Tacoma Husky Terminal Expansion Port One ($54,233,330) Tacoma, Washington.
- Velasco Terminal Sustainable Expansion Project ($15,958,380) Freeport, Texas.
- Agricultural Maritime Export Facility – Phase 2 ($9,276,352) Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- Port of Blencoe Infrastructure Development Project ($10,262,240) Blencoe, Iowa.
- River Valley Slackwater Harbor Project ($15,096,000) Fort Smith, Arkansas.
“Modernizing the nation’s port infrastructure is vital to the reinforcement of America’s multimodal system for transporting goods. The advantages of cargo movement on water extend well beyond the maritime domain,” said Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips.
“By funding port infrastructure development, the Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that goods move reliably and in greater quantities, strengthening supply chain resiliency across all modes of transportation, and addressing the negative impacts of port operations on public health and the environment that have harmed communities living near ports.”
