The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced Tuesday that the designation of new and extended marine highway projects would positively affect supply chain efficiency nationwide.
The projects include a new Marine Highway Route, two new Marine Highway Projects, and one Project Designation Extension as part of America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The efficiencies will mostly be felt in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, and Oregon, the department said.
“Investments in the America’s Marine Highway Program help us move more goods more quickly and more efficiently to the American people, supporting our supply chains even while they continue to come under pressure from pandemic-driven disruptions,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “Today’s announcements are an important step in the Administration’s Port Action Plan to strengthen our supply chains, modernize port operations, and combat inflation.”
The AMHP has supported the increased use of the country’s navigable waterways to relieve congestion and provide new and efficient transportation options since its inception in 2014. AMHP helps to create and sustain American jobs in U.S. ports, on vessels, and at shipyards, the department said.
In March, the department announced that nearly $25 million in grant funding would be made available to the AMHP through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – the single largest appropriation in the program’s history.
“Put simply, President Biden is leading the largest-ever federal investment in modernizing our country’s ports—and our domestic coastwise services—and improving both our supply chains and the lives of Americans who depend on them,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley. “This is truly an extraordinary moment.”
The projects include a Marine Highway Route Designation along the Kaskaskia River in Illinois – the M-3 Kaskaskia River project covering more than 300 miles between Champaign, Ill., and the Mississippi River; the Lake Michigan M-90 Marine Highway Shortcut (Michigan and Wisconsin) project supporting an existing ferry service across Lake Michigan between Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis.; and Northwest Connect, a critical lifeline between Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington.