AASHTO Journal - Five Marine Highway Projects Receive Federal Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration – known as MARAD – recently issued $4.85 million in grants to five marine highway projects via the United States Marine Highway Program or USMHP. 

[Above photo by the Port of West Virginia]

The agency said that funding will enhance the movement of goods along the nation’s navigable waterways while expanding existing waterborne freight services in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Washington, and West Virginia.

“The USMHP is a tremendous opportunity to increase waterborne transport through expanding the use of America’s navigable waters, and through this expansion, to further integrate our waterways into the nation’s surface transportation system,” said MARAD Administrator Ann Phillips in a statement. “This is particularly important as water-based transport is the most efficient, effective, and sustainable option.”

The agency noted that the USMHP aims to expand the use of the nation’s navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion, support new and more efficient transportation options, and enhance performance of the surface transportation system working with both public and private stakeholders to achieve those goals.

In September 2023, MARAD issued $12 million in grants to improve the movement of goods along U.S. navigable waterways and expand existing waterborne freight services in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Of that nearly $12 million in grants, MARAD said $5.8 million went towards supporting projects within “historically disadvantaged communities.”

The agency noted that USMHP grants can be used to purchase low-emission U.S.-manufactured equipment, such as container reach stackers and cranes, with the condition that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials are produced in the United States. In addition, funds can be used to purchase intermodal equipment that can alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, MARAD said.