The Port of Seattle will receive $20 million from the US
Department of Transportation as part of the Transportation Investment
Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program, Sen. Patty Murray revealed
Sept. 9.
This investment will go toward modernizing the port’s
Terminal 46, a container terminal that serves as a critical export hub and
economic engine in Washington State.
“This investment will provide a major boost to the Port’s
efforts to lay down a strong foundation for long-term economic growth and job
creation throughout the region, which is exactly what I created these TIGER
grants to accomplish,” Murray said. “Modernizing Terminal 46 will protect and
leverage the investments we’ve made at the Port of Seattle and will help
Washington State maintain its cargo leadership for decades to come.”
The TIGER Grant Program was created by Murray in 2009 to
provide competitively awarded grants through the US Department of
Transportation to transportation projects throughout the country that support
economic growth and employ local workers.
The Murray-authored program had provided about $3.5 billion
in job-creating transportation projects in every corner of the country before
this latest round of investments, which includes $600 million more in critical
projects.
Components of the Terminal 46 project include dock
rehabilitation, paving, crude rail extension, road improvements and public
shoreline access development. Investments are being made at T46 by the port to
address maintenance issues that threaten the reliability, cost-effectiveness
and efficiency of the trade corridor and to compete with upgrades at Canadian
ports.
Maintenance conducted during the project are expected to
extend the service life of T46 by 25 to 30 years and make enhancements enabling
the terminal to service two super post-Panamax vessels simultaneously.
