Maritime Administration Announces Notice of Funding Opportunity for America’s Marine Highway Program
Grants Will Provide Nearly $11 Million in Funding
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation ’ s Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) announced the handiness of $ 10,819,000 in concede fund for the America ’ s Marine Highway Program ( AMHP ). The AMHP ’ s purpose is to encourage the consumption of America ’ s 25,000 miles of navigable waterways. It provides an efficient, sustainable and cost-efficient department of transportation system – alleviating road congestion, reducing carbon paper dioxide, and supporting job employment within local communities .
“ The America ’ s Marine Highway Program increases the use of environmentally sustainable practices to move freight across our exile system. ” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “ These investments help local communities reduce congestion and create more economic opportunities. ”
The AMHP supports the increased use of our inland waterways to relieve landside congestion, provide new and efficient exile options and increase the productiveness of the surface transportation system system .
Marine highways are all-water routes, much running aboard or near major highways. The AMHP helps to promote integrate coastal and inland waterways into our transportation system arrangement, providing alternate options to traditional ship methods. The increase motion of freight by water is besides substantive to achieving greenhouse gas reductions, as it requires less energy and releases fewer emissions than early options .
Read more: What is the Maritime Industry?
“ The America ’ s Marine Highway Program provides substantive fund to support the expand motion of freight by water system, while besides supporting port communities on our coasts and inland waterways, ” said Acting Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley. “ By investing in these services, we are able to bolster local anesthetic communities and generate American jobs. ”
Since its origin, the AMHP has designated 45 marine highway projects, 21 of which are presently operating. Creating newfangled Marine Highway “ container on barge ” services on commercially navigable waterways helps make american jobs in U.S. ports, vessels, shipyards and surrounding areas. For model, since 2010, the Port of Virginia ’ s 64 Express avail, connecting Hampton Roads and Richmond, Virginia via the James River, has removed more than 221,000 cargo containers that would otherwise be carried by trucks along the heavily congested I-64 corridor. This one nautical highway serve has saved approximately $ 5.9 million in road alimony and more than 17.5 thousand tons of carbon paper dioxide emissions while besides supporting 1,100 direct and indirect jobs. Through former MARAD awards, an investing of over $ 4 million in Federal fund leveraged $ 436 million in individual investment in an economically distressed area near the Virginia Port Authority ’ s Richmond Marine Terminal .
merely Marine Highway Projects previously designated by the Secretary of Transportation are eligible to receive fund under the AMHP .
Applications for the grants are due by 5:00 P.M. EDT on June 25, 2021. extra information is available in the Federal Register here or by contacting Fred Jones, Office of Ports and Waterways Planning, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-1123 or Fred.Jones @ dot.gov .
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