DOT Announces New Funding for America’s Marine Highway Program to Strengthen Supply Chains

Wednesday, March 2, 2022
Contact: maradpressoffice@dot.gov

 

DOT Announces New Funding for America’s Marine Highway Program to Strengthen Supply Chains

$25 Million available, the largest single appropriation of funding ever thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced the availability of $25 million in funding for the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), which supports the development and expanded use of America’s navigable waterways and will help improve our nation’s supply chains and the movement of goods throughout the country.

These new resources represent the largest single appropriation of funding ever provided to the AMHP and were made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which will make a $1.2 trillion investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness.  

“America’s waterways are a vital means for getting goods onto our shelves and into our homes,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Thanks to these investments, and others like them in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can help create jobs, reduce delays, and strengthen our critical supply chains for decades to come.”

These grants demonstrate continued action on commitments in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Port Action Plan, which meets the demand resulting from the rapid economic recovery and helps address inflationary pressures.

“This historic funding for the Marine Highways program will expand waterborne transportation options while helping project sponsors increase energy conservation, improve safety, reduce landside infrastructure costs, and reduce travel delays caused by congestion. This investment will also create well-paying maritime jobs,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley.

The America’s Marine Highway Program supports the increased use of the Nation’s navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion, provide new and efficient transportation options, and increase the productivity of the surface transportation system. By working closely with public and private organizations, the AMHP helps create and sustain American jobs in U.S. ports, on vessels, and at shipyards, while also improving our supply chains.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails; upgrade and expand public transit; modernize the Nation’s ports and airports; improve safety; help tackle the climate crisis; advance environmental justice; and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. It will drive the creation of good-paying jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably to help everyone get ahead for decades to come.

To be eligible for a grant award, a project must have previously been designated as a Marine Highway Project designated by the Secretary of Transportation. For more information on the eligible projects, please visit here.

Applications for the grants are due on April 29, 2022 by 5 p.m. EST. Additional information is available here, or by contacting Timothy Pickering, Office of Ports and Waterways Planning, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-0704 or MH@dot.gov.

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