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$4.85 million in grants for Marine Highway projects

Written by Shirley Del
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“These grants will help us take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits of one of America’s most crucial transportation assets—our coastal and inland waterways,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.The aim of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Marine Highways Program is to expand use of U.S. navigable waterways to relieve highway, road and rail congestion, cut harmful air emissions, and increase the efficiency of the surface transportation system.

PROJECT FUNDING
Port of Baton Rouge and Port of New Orleans Container-on-Barge Service
A $1,758,595 grant for a new regularly scheduled container on barge service that supports exports moving from the Port of Baton Rouge to the Port of New Orleans, where the containers are loaded onto container vessels. The new service is designed to collect empty containers in Memphis, TN, and transport them to Baton Rouge to meet demand for chemical industry exports. The new operation would commence with five barges per week, which could potentially eliminate about 12,500 truck trips each year.

Illinois Container on Barge Shuttle Project
A $713,000 grant will help fund an 18-month demonstration project to provide shuttle service for agricultural customers moving containerized exports between southern and northern Illinois to access the Union Pacific and BNSF rail ramps. The shuttle service will operate on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers between Channahon and Granite City, IL, with an option to extend the container-on-barge service to the Gulf of Mexico ports in concert with related Marine Highway Designation.

James River Container Expansion Project
The 64 Express is an existing container-on-barge service at the Port of Virginia that operates along the James River between Hampton Roads and Richmond. VA. The $476,748 will support development of new customers by expanding service to include moving refrigerated and frozen products on the barge. The 64 Express is already removing over 15,000 truck trips per year.

New York Harbor and Container and Trailer on Barge Service
A $1,632,296 grant will support the New York Harbor Container and Trailer on Barge, an existing service that operates in New York Harbor between Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn, NY, to Red Hook Barge Terminal in Newark, NJ. The grant will be used to purchase infrastructure that will support improved barge operations and the creation of a crane operator training center that will improve both safety and container throughput.

M-55/M-35 Container-on-Barge Project
A $96,000 grant will support planning efforts by the City of St. Louis Port Authority, Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals, Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, and Upper Mississippi River Basin Association on developing containerized shipping along the Mississippi River, between New Orleans, Minneapolis and Chicago.

M-495 Potomac River Commuter Ferry Project
A $173,361 grant will support the planning efforts to development a new commuter ferry service on the Potomac River. If fully developed, the M-495 Potomac River Commuter Ferry could reduce existing congestion on highways and interstates by providing commuters and shippers with more transportation choices between Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.

 

 

OCTOBER 27, 2016—The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded grants totaling $4.85 million for six Marine Highway projects, including a new Container-on-Barge service that would connect New Orleans, Minneapolis and Chicago, and a new commuter ferry for Washington, DC.

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