USDOT to award $703 million in port infrastructure grants

Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it will award more than $703 million in grants to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that will improve port facilities. The grants will be issued through the Maritime Administration's Port Infrastructure Development Program.

The funding, made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and additional congressional appropriations, will benefit coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland river ports. The grants will be used to fund projects that will help improve supply-chain reliability through increased port capacity and resilience, more efficient operations, reduced emissions and new workforce opportunities, USDOT officials said in a press release.

The grants and related projects with rail elements include:

• $25.5 million for the Grays Harbor Terminal 4 expansion and redevelopment project in Aberdeen, Washington. The project calls for construction of an additional 50,000 feet of rail to accommodate unit trains, rail-car storage and the repurposing of a 50-acre brownfield site into a breakbulk cargo handling and laydown area.

• $10 million for the Port of Green Bay's site development project in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The grant will pay for the project’s first phase to redevelop a former power plant site into a new port terminal. The project includes repair of a rail spur and the installation of three switches.

• $6.1 million for the dock expansion project at Lowndes County West Bank Port in Columbus, Mississippi. The project calls for the design, engineering, construction and inspection of a new rail spur with 10,000 linear feet of track and three transload docks that will provide direct rail access for transloading cargo between barges and rail cars at the port. The new rail spur will connect the port terminal to an existing line operated by Kansas City Southern.

A full list of the port infrastructure grant awards can be read here.