Ocean freight industry voices are cheering the latest round of federal funding grants for infrastructure projects at American seaports, totaling $48.4 million from the 2024 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) award program.
The largest amount for a single site went to the Port of Bellingham in Washington State, which received almost $18 million to finalize on-dock rail connections at its shipping terminal. The Puerto Rico Ports Authority also received more than $21 million for a wharf reconstruction and resiliency project.
Three other projects included:
- San Diego Unified Port District will receive $5 million for a Phase II Planning Project to redevelop a terminal,
- American Samoa Government Department of Port Administration will receive $3 million to develop a Port Masterplan, and
- The Commonwealth Ports Authority of the Northern Mariana Islands, received $1.26 million in planning grants for two berth improvement projects.
"These port infrastructure projects will reap significant benefits to our nation's supply chains and potentially transformational impacts locally," Cary Davis, president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), said in a release. “Our ports extend a heartfelt thanks to Congress, the USDOT, and all the stakeholders involved in awarding these vital funds."
Announced on June 26, the RAISE grant funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which to date has announced some $454 billion in funding for 57,000 specific projects in 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories.
