By Mark Edward Nero
The US Department of Transportation has awarded a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant to the Port of Everett to help fund the port’s South Terminal modernization project.
The project includes strengthening more than 500 feet of dock, creating a modern berth capable of handling roll-on/roll-off and intermodal cargo, upgrading high voltage power systems and constructing rail sidings to increase on-site rail car storage.
The port also has said the project would “modernize facilities to meet 21st century demands to efficiently and safely serve larger, heavy cargo vessels critical to the region’s aerospace supply chain.”
The project could also improve the local and regional impact of freight movement on the general public by converting truck trips to rail, and also has environmental benefits from electrifying the terminal and implementing cold ironing.
Total cost of the modernization project is estimated at $55.5 million.
Federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER grants, are awarded on a competitive basis to fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure; selection prioritizes projects with significant regional economic impact.
The Port of Everett was one of only two West Coast ports awarded 2016 TIGER grants. The other facility was Oregon’s Port of Portland, which received $7.3 million to help fund a rail overpass and realign a congested and dangerous intersection at an industrial park.
Since 2009, the TIGER grant program has provided a combined $5.1 billion to 421 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and tribal communities.
The funds leverage money from private sector partners, states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies, with the 2016 TIGER round alone leveraging nearly $500 million in federal investment to support $1.74 billion in overall transportation investments.
