On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced it had awarded nearly $12 million to eight marine highway projects to strengthen the country’s supply chain.
The funding provided under the US. Marine Highway Program (USMHP) awarded grants to eight marine highway projects. Officials said the grants would improve the movement of goods along navigable waterways and expand existing waterborne freight services in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
“Our country has always relied on American waterways to get vital goods where they need to go,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Today, we are delivering new funding for eight marine highway projects across the country that will strengthen our supply chains, improve our ports, and help keep goods affordable for American families.”
Among the awards were $3.32 million for the Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District in Louisiana, which will pay for the procurement, delivery, and assembly of cargo transloading equipment, including a 220-ton crane and a 25-ton forklift. The project, officials said, will promote the establishment of a marine highway transportation service between the Port of Morgan City and other central and northern Louisiana ports on the Atchafalaya and Red rivers.
Other funded projects include more than $1 million for the Kaskaskia Regional Port District for the acquisition of eight shuttle cars, which will complete the infrastructure expansion at the Kaskaskia Regional Port District; and $600,000 for the lake Michigan Carberry, Inc. to support a zero-emission/carbon capture feasibility analysis to convert the SS Badger, the last coal-powered freight and passenger ferry in the United States, from a coal-fired steamship to a zero-emission ferry vessel.
“The U.S. Marine Highway Program is focused on increasing waterborne transport through the nation’s navigable waterways,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said. “By integrating our internal waterways into the nation’s surface transportation system, we will be utilizing a more efficient, effective, and sustainable option for moving passengers and large freight.”