Four new Marine Highway Projects have been designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration to help relieve the current supply chain challenges.
The projects, which are part of the America’s Marine Highway Program, are located in North Carolina, Alaska and Puerto Rico and can apply for funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to a June 3 Department of Transportation news release.
“We’re pleased to make four new marine highway projects eligible for federal funding so they can move more goods more efficiently,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release from the DOT. “We are using resources from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make historic investments in our nation’s marine highways - part of our continuing action to address global supply chain disruptions and lower costs for American families.”
According to the release, a Marine Highway Project is defined as “a planned service, or expansion of an existing service, on a designated Marine Highway Route.”
Since 2010, the AMHP has designated 58 marine highway projects, the release reported. The AMHP supports the increased use of the nation’s navigable waterways to relieve supply chain congestion, provide new and efficient transportation options, and increase the productivity of the movement of goods. After designation as part of AMHP, the projects are eligible for an AMHP grant award.
“The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law focuses on ensuring that every Marine Highway project improves the movement of goods,” Deputy Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley said in the release. “We will also address resiliency, the reduction of emissions and other public benefits like supply chain congestion and safety.”
Nearly $25 million in grant funding is available for the AMHP through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Act made an additional $14.8 million available for the AMHP, the release said. Combined, it’s the most funding for Marine Highways in American history.
The four new Marine Highway Projects are the Riverbulk Steel Shuttle in North Carolina to support an existing barge service that transports steel plates along the existing M-95, M-64 and M-495 Marine Highway corridors; the Yakutat, Alaska’s Freight Expansion Service in Alaska, which expands an existing freight service on the M-5 (AK) Marine Highway Route; the Unalaska Express in Alaska, which supports the growth of the CMA CGM barge terminal currently operating in the City of Unalaska’s International Port of Dutch Harbor; and the Puerto Rico Maritime Transportation Services Project in Puerto Rico, which establishes reliable routes among Ceiba, Culebra and Vieques to allow residents access to the essential services located primarily on the main island, according to the release.
