Ports in 19 states and one territory are slated to receive more than $241 in grant funding to improve facilities and overcome challenges in the nation's supply chains.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced the funding on the Department of Transportation website Dec. 23. The discretionary grants will fund 25 projects, including container-terminal expansion, dock restoration, dredging, construction projects and more, DOT states. The funds will be allocated through Maritime Administration's Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), DOT states.
“U.S. maritime ports play a critical role in our supply chains,” Sec. Buttigieg said in the announcement. “These investments in our nation’s ports will help support American jobs, efficient and resilient operations, and faster delivery of goods to the American people.”
Grants were awarded to projects at coastal seaports, ports on the Great Lakes and inland river ports, DOT states. Fiscal Year 2021 PIDP includes priorities related to job creation, climate change, and environmental justice impacts, DOT reports.
"These grants demonstrate rapid action on commitments in the Biden-Harris Port Action Plan, which will strengthen our supply chains to meet demand resulting from the rapid economic recovery over the past year, and help address inflationary pressures," DOT stated in the announcement.
President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal includes $17 billion to improve infrastructure at coastal ports, inland ports and waterways, and land ports of entry along the border, the White House announced.
"These resources will deliver near-term assistance and make long-term investments to strengthen supply chain resiliency," White House officials stated in the announcement. "Along the way, these investments will create good paying jobs and help America outcompete China. Together, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is the single largest federal investment in our ports in U.S. history."
The Biden administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will grant the PIDP $450 million each fiscal year through 2026, for a total of $2.25 billion, DOT reports.
“These investments will support the shift to cleaner transportation, which will create more economic activity and good paying jobs,” Lucinda Lessley, Acting Maritime Administrator, said in the DOT announcement. “The Port Infrastructure Development Program is an important part of building back better for our ports, our communities, our economy, and our people.”
