DOT pumping more truck capacity into US ports

Port trucking gets a big boost through DOT grants. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

WASHINGTON — About $290 million of $653 million in new federal grants awarded by the Biden administration will be used to improve truck capacity at U.S. ports.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Friday the latest annual round of funding under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), administered by DOT’s Maritime Administration.

Of the 41 port projects receiving money through the program in 2023, 11 feature significant improvements aimed at speeding truck freight in and out of coastal and inland ports.

“This is a day of good news for America’s supply chains and good news for every American interested in seeing the price of goods go down and stay down,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at a press briefing prior to the announcement.

“There is still an enormous amount of work to do. The goal is not to get American supply chains back to what they looked like in 2019 — which was adequate on a good day but not able to handle a disruption. Our goal is to strengthen those supply chains in a durable fashion while bringing more of them home to America, so that they are not just fair weather supply chains but ones that are going to be able to withstand all of the challenges and surprises that future years can throw at us.”

Among the 11 projects where truck capacity will get a major boost is the Port of Long Beach, California, which is receiving $52.6 million for its North Harbor Improvement Project. The $280 million multimodal project is increasing internal road capacity to create more space for trucks as well as making road and rail improvements outside the terminal areas to enhance cargo flow.

At the Port of Tacoma, Washington’s Husky Terminal — whose customers include major trans-Pacific container ship operators — a $54.2 million grant will be used to reconfigure the terminal yard to improve truck circulation. The federal grant represents 43% of the project’s $126 million cost.

On the East Coast, Diamond State Port Corp. at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, is receiving $50 million for the new Edgemoor Container Terminal, a $132 million project that includes building a modern truck gate complex, terminal buildings and a 100,000-square-foot warehouse. “The new truck gate will allow the facility to handle additional cargo safely, efficiently, and reliably at higher speeds and with fewer accidents,” according to a project summary.

DOT is also awarding a $10.1 million PIDP grant to an inland river port on the Ohio River, the Shawneetown Regional Port District in southeast Illinois. The district has several private terminal operators, but the grant would cover 100% of the cost to develop a new 1.25-mile port access road for future port expansion.

“The new access road will improve efficiency and reliability by increasing the port’s truck staging capacity from 10 trucks to 105 trucks at any given time, resulting in an increase in throughput capacity at the port as well as a reduction in bottlenecks and congestion resulting from trucks having to stage throughout the local street network surrounding the port,” according to DOT.

One port project getting a wholesale makeover — thanks in part to a $32 million PIDP grant — is a berth at Port Newark, New Jersey. When the $197 million project is completed, it is expected to increase the port’s capacity to handle projected increases in dry bulk goods “and provide an additional layer of reliability for the regional and national supply chain,” DOT stated, by raising the elevation of the berth to better withstand flood events.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J, pointed out that the berth, out of service since September 2021 “due to structural safety concerns,” will be reconstructed for a 75-year service life.

“New Jersey’s ports are engines of economic development for our region, moving goods, creating jobs, and strengthening our economy,” Booker said. “These investments will fund critical upgrades that improve port operations and shore up supply chains, secure New Jersey’s position as a leader in clean energy, and create thousands of jobs.”

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