The Manatee County Port Authority received word today that U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the designation of 18 Marine Highway Corridors and eight Marine Highway Projects that are now eligible to compete for federal funding through America’s Marine Highway Program.
The Marine Highway initiative aims to move more cargo via America’s waterways, alleviating highway congestion and reducing emissions.
“Making better use of our rivers and coastal routes offers an intelligent way to relieve some of the biggest challenges we face in transportation – congestion on our roads, climate change, fossil fuel energy use and soaring road maintenance costs,” said Secretary LaHood. “There is no better time for us to improve the use of our rivers and coasts for transportation.”
The Cross Gulf Container Expansion Project – an existing container-on-barge service between Port Manatee and the Port of Brownville, Texas is one of the eight Marine Highway Projects selected. The project designation provides the foundation for Port Manatee and its partner, the Port of Brownsville, to compete for $7 million in U.S.
MARINE HIGHWAY
Department of Transportation Maritime Administration grants, along with the seven others:
| Project Name | Project Sponsor | Project Location(s) |
| Cross Gulf Container Expansion | Port Manatee, FL and the Port of Brownsville, TX | Brownsville, TX; Manatee, FL (on Lower Tampa Bay) |
| Cross Sound Enhancements | Connecticut State Department of Transportation | New London, CT; Orient Point, Long Island, NY |
| New England Marine Highway Expansion Project | Maine Department of Transportation | Newark, NJ; Boston, MA; Portland, ME |
| Tenn-Tom Waterway Pilot Project | Port Itawamba, Mississippi | Mobile, AL; Itawamba, MS (SE of Memphis, TN) |
| Gulf Atlantic Marine Highway Project | South Carolina State Ports Authority & Port of Galveston, TX | Galveston, TX; Charleston, SC (Others as project develops) |
| Detroit-Wayne County Ferry | Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority | Detroit, MI; Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Trans-Hudson Rail Service | Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | Jersey City, NJ (Greenville Rail Terminal); Brooklyn, NY |
| James River Container Expansion | Virginia Port Authority | Richmond, Hampton Roads and Norfolk, VA |
