On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) said it would invest more than $653 million in 41 port improvement projects as part of the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).
Part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, MARAD said the funding will help grow capacity and increase efficiency at ports along both coasts, on the Great Lakes and at inland rivers. Because more than 2.3 billion short tons of domestic and international U.S. commerce moves by water, investment into the ports will strengthen the supply chain, the administration said.
“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,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said. “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.”
The investments are part of nearly $17 billion in funding dedicated to ports and waterway through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“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,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said. “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.”
Among the projects receiving funding were $43 million for Cold Bay, Alaska to design, permit and construct a new dock that will replace the community’s only existing dock; $7.7 million for North Bend, Oregon to fund repairs to the dock facing Ko’Kwel Wharf, bringing 800-amp service and shore power outlet box to the wharf as a way to reduce or eliminate the need for idling diesel engines; and $9.2 million for Milwaukee, Wisconsin to construct two grain storage silos, as well as make electrical service upgrades and fund the purchase of more grain and cargo handling equipment at the agricultural maritime export facility there.
Projects were selected based on their ability to improve safety, efficiency or reliability, and on how well they would improve port resilience, among other criterion.