AASHTO Journal - MARAD Invests in Marine Highways, Shipyards, Ports

The U.S. Maritime Administration – known as MARAD – recently issued more than $13.2 million in funding to 11 marine highway projects across seven states through the U.S. Marine Highway Program, alongside a $35 million investment to help revitalize America’s small shipyards and $500 million pool of grants to fund port improvements.

[Above photo by MARAD]

MARAD said this latest round of marine highway project funding aims to support public and private partners in developing supply chains on marine highway routes – including the transportation of waste in Oregon and the improvement of barge docks in Pennsylvania – to ensure greater waterborne freight shipping resiliency.

“Investing in marine highways will strengthen the economy and regional communities,” said Sean Duffy, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a statement. “We’ll deliver jobs, provide a boost for local industries, and strengthen infrastructure our economy relies on.”

“The marine highway program is a vital opportunity to expand the nation’s freight capacity,” added Steve Carmel, MARAD’s administrator. “By fully integrating our navigable waterways into the national transportation system, we keep the American economy moving forward.”

Concurrently, MARAD’s $35 million investment in small shipyards seeks to help upgrade ship repair and construction facilities; help shipyards purchase new equipment, including cranes, plasma cutters, and welding systems; and bolster maritime training programs to “supercharge” the maritime workforce.

More details are contained within the notice of funding opportunity for those grants, the agency said; noting that applications are due by May 11.

“This investment will empower our domestic maritime industry to modernize facilities, foster competitive operations, and equip the American worker with the skills needed to restore our nation’s maritime dominance,” noted MARAD’s Carmel in a separate statement.

Those two offerings by MARAD follow a nearly $500 million funding opportunity made March 26 via the agency’s Port Infrastructure Development Program or PIDP, which aims to modernize America’s ports and strengthen its supply chains, reduce time and costs for shippers, and drive down the cost of goods for American families.

MARAD added that the PIDP program will also allocate at least 25 percent of that funding – roughly more than $122 million – for “Small Projects at Small Ports.” Eligible applicants include port authorities, states, local governments, indigenous tribal nations, counties, and other entities, the agency said.