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MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), today announced Harbor Assistance Program grants totaling $9.4 million for six harbor projects in Wisconsin that improve waterborne freight and promote economic development.
“When we look at ways our local businesses can move Wisconsin's high-quality products worldwide, Wisconsin has a tremendous geographic advantage with the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River on our Northern, Western, and Eastern boarders,” Gov. Evers said. “These investments in our harbors build on the advantage we already have by bolstering our harbors to strengthen our supply chain and open new opportunities for business growth in our state.”
“Whether we look at the new agricultural shipping capabilities of Port Milwaukee or the boom in shipbuilding and crane manufacturing, Wisconsin’s harbors provide strength and resilience for our transportation infrastructure and economy,” WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson said. “Thank you to all who worked hard to make these investments happen.”
“The agriculture industry contributes $104.8 billion to our state’s economy each year,” DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski said. “These infrastructure investments, paired with Governor Evers’ investment in expanding Wisconsin’s agricultural exports, will help Wisconsin producers and processors move products to global markets.”
- Port Milwaukee — $1,175,000 to repair and reconstruct a section of dock wall along the Jones Island Inner Mooring Basin. This project repairs a portion of the most significantly degraded dock wall within the port.
- Port of Green Bay — $1,100,000 to stabilize the existing shoreline with bulkhead fill and dock wall construction on new port property located at the mouth of the Fox River.
- Hanke Terminals, La Crosse — $2,000,000 this project involves the construction of an agricultural commodity transloading facility. Funds will be used for a bulkhead fill to create a solid pier with dock walls and pile clusters.
- DeLong Co. Inc. Port Milwaukee — $3,381,000 to assist in funding the final stage of construction of a transformational $36 million agricultural maritime export facility (AMEF) on Port Milwaukee property leased to DeLong Co. Inc.
- City of Kewanee — $249,000 to replace pile cluster moorings along the city of Kewaunee-owned dock wall near Harbor Park.
- City of Superior, C. Reiss Coal — $1,500,000 to improve and reconstruct an existing dock wall and dredge Saint Louis Bay on a vacant property to create an intermodal transload facility to handle bulk materials.
Created in 1979, Wisconsin’s Harbor Assistance Program helps harbor communities maintain and improve waterborne commerce. Applications are reviewed by the Harbor Advisory Council, which includes members from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, UW Sea Grant, Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and alumni from the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute.
Applications are accepted from public or private harbor facilities for projects that benefit facilities used for cargo transfer, shipbuilding, commercial fishing, vessel cruises, or ferry service. All projects must have a transportation efficiency benefit-cost ratio greater than one over a 25-year project life and be identified in a current three-year harbor development plan. Selection criteria include economic impact, urgency, and project type. Those interested in the next round of Harbor Assistance Project grants should note that the deadline for the next cycle is Aug. 1, 2022.
For more information about Wisconsin’s Harbor Assistance program or to review past grant awards, visit: http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/doing-bus/local-gov/astnce-pgms/aid/harbor.aspx.
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