Funding for this year’s port development projects will see a total of 41 port projects including sea and Great Lakes ports as well as inland and river port projects receiving support according to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD).
MARAD said that the PIDP remains a key element of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which is designed to improve the movement of goods across the US following the major bottlenecks experienced during and immediately after the COVID pandemic.
According to MARAD the logjams experienced added to the inflationary pressures experienced in the US economy as customers paid more transportation and waited longer for their goods.
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.”
Some of the larger projects to be funded include Long Beach’s $52.6 million upgrade that will add a third track to the Dominguez Channel Bridge; relocate and modernise Pier B Street, on-dock roadways, and associated utilities; and realign Pico Avenue, including replacing and relocating aging utilities in the area.
Another $50 million will build the Edgemoor Container Terminal on the Delaware River, south of Philadelphia, which will include all-electric operations a modern truck gate and a 9,300 square metre warehouse space.
In Baltimore, Maryland, a project to develop an offshore wind manufacturing hub will receive $47.3 million and will include a roro and crane pads with structures that will support the offshore wind components.
Offshore wind logistics will also be funded at Norfolk Virginia with some $39.26 million in support of heavy lift projects and offshore cabling.
In Washington state the PIDP will provide $54.23 million to reconfigure the Husky Terminal yard to improve truck efficiency and the port will install 40 reefer points.
A wide variety of smaller projects were also selected with MARAD saying that project selection was based on the plan’s improvement of safety, efficiency, or reliability in moving freight as well as improving port resilience.
“Other factors considered during the project evaluation process included the amount of non-federal funding an applicant committed to the project and how well the project enhanced economic vitality, supported workforce development, addressed climate change and sustainability, and advanced equity and President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative,” said MARAD.
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