Ports awarded nearly $95m in infrastructure grants

Seven of the 42 capital project funding requests selected for awards under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant programme, went to America's ports, totalling US$94.84 million, or about 17 percent of the total $556.57 million, according to PRNewswire.

"US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has indicated on numerous occasions the value and importance of seaport-related infrastructure to America's overall transportation system and our nation's competitiveness in global trade," said American Association of Port Authorities president and CEO Kurt Nagle.

The ports awarded seaport-related projects included:

* $22.76 million to the Port of Miami to help establish intermodal container rail service at the port by building an intermodal yard, intermodal container rail transfer facility, and making necessary rail and bridge improvements.

* $16 million to the Port of Los Angeles to construct an intermodal railyard, which includes staging and storage tracks connecting on-dock railyards with the Alameda Corridor, as part of the port's West Basin Railyard project.

* $13,57 million to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay to rehabilitate the track structure of the 133-mile Coos Bay Rail Link, which closed in 2007 as a result of deferred maintenance.

* $13 million to the Port at Cates Landing (Tenn.) to build a port and harbour facility on the Mississippi River to create a connection between barge traffic at the port and truck freight movement.

* $10.5 million to the Port of Providence (R.I.) to help replace old, dilapidated diesel cranes with new electric, barge-based cranes and to help fund installation of wind turbines and solar panels for electric generation.

* $10 million to the Port of Vancouver USA (Wash.) to help finish construction of a new rail access route to alleviate rail traffic congestion at the port.

* $9 million to Port Manatee (Florida) to help construct a 32-acre container terminal and expand the port's cargo storage capacity for its Marine Highway (short sea shipping) operation and for other tenants.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)