The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration is providing the Marine Highway Program with $12 million to increase the use of America's navigable waterways.
According to a March 1 news release, funded projects will be evaluated based on criteria including their effect on the movement of goods, level of non-federal funding investment, domestic preference, environmental justice and geographic diversity.
“America’s waterways serve as critical links in our nation’s supply chains,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. “These investments in our marine highways will help to strengthen our supply chains, reduce emissions and create jobs across the country.”
The Marine Highway Program by MARAD strives to enhance the use of America's navigable waters by collaborating with both public and private entities to create and extend marine highway services, according to the website. The goal is to integrate these services into the current surface transportation system, focusing on situations where water-based transport is more efficient, effective and sustainable.
The program aims to highlight the advantages of waterways, raise public awareness and promote them as a viable and sometimes superior alternative to land-based shipping and transportation options, the website reported.
“Since the establishment of the marine highways program, MARAD has awarded more than $91.6 million in competitive grants to eligible organizations for marine highway services,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said in the release. “These grants have supported the development and expansion of marine highways, vessels and landside ports and infrastructure, which are critical to building supply chain resilience.”
The Marine Highway Program underwent significant changes with the National Defense Authorization Act for 2023, according to the website. These changes included renaming the program from America's Marine Highway Program to United States Marine Highway Program, expanding the definition of marine highway transportation to include various types of cargo and shipments to and from ports in Canada and Mexico, removing project designations as an eligibility requirement for grants and allowing rural and Tribal applicants to request an increase in the federal share.
