Trucking to Benefit from New Biden Administration Port Investments

The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced more than $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects, some of which will improve congestion and flow-through for the drayage trucks serving those ports.

The funding will help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, as well as Great Lakes ports and inland river ports.

These investments are part of the nearly $17 billion in dedicated funding for ports and waterways through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Projects were selected based on their ability to improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods, as well as on how well they would improve port resilience.

Examples of Port Grants Benefiting Trucking

North Harbor Transportation System Improvement Project, Long Beach, California

The $52.6 million project will add a third intermodal railroad track to the Dominguez Channel Bridge; relocate and modernize Pier B Street, on-dock roadways, and associated utilities; and realign Pico Avenue, including replacing and relocating aging utilities in the area. The rail expansion and roadway improvements will enhance cargo movements to and from the port and increase internal road capacity to create more space for tractor-trailer operations.

North Gate Relocation and Access Optimization, Wilmington, North Carolina

The nearly $11 million project will construct approximately 4,000 feet of elevated roadway access to the general cargo terminal, relocate the North Gate security checkpoint, install a new gate operating system, improve railroad crossings, construct a truck queuing area, and install EV charging infrastructure and solar panels. The new facilities will increase railroad capacity, reducing truck delays resulting from railroad operations.

The NC Ports’ North Gate Relocation and Access Optimization project will move the North Gate port entrance to the designated truck route and away from neighborhood streets. This project will eliminate truck delays and congestion at a very active railroad crossing. It will also bring the port entrance closer to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and the national highway network.

Port of Tacoma Husky Terminal Expansion Port One, Tacoma, Washington

The nearly $54 million project will reconfigure the Husky terminal yard for better truck circulation, install roughly 40 refrigerated cargo racks and related power supplies, and relocate on-terminal structures. The new facilities will increase cargo throughput by tripling refrigerated cargo capacity at the port.

Velasco Terminal Sustainable Expansion Project, Freeport, Texas 
The $16 million project includes construction of a 36,900-square-foot cross-dock warehouse, related site improvements on a roughly 10-acre site, and a new terminal access truck gate. The cross-dock facility will enable cargo to be unloaded, sorted, and loaded onto trucks without interfering with other terminal traffic, reducing congestion. The new truck gate will reduce truck turn times by adding truck lanes off the adjacent roadway.