One of Georgia's busiest ports has won a $15 million federal grant to help pay for a new dock and other renovations at one of its shipping terminals, the state's U.S. senator announced Wednesday. did.
The Port of Brunswick, about 110 miles south of Savannah, will receive funding through a U.S. Department of Transportation grant funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, according to Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. He said he would receive it.
Ossoff called the funding “a huge win for coastal Georgia and the state's overall economy,” noting that Brunswick is rapidly growing as the nation's auto import and export center. He also told reporters that the infrastructure bill's bipartisan support shows that lawmakers from opposing parties can continue to work together.
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“This is an investment in Georgia and a collaboration between Democrats and Republicans,” Ossoff said during a virtual news conference Tuesday.
In addition to automobiles and heavy equipment, Brunswick also handles bulk cargo such as agricultural products, paper, and rubber. The infrastructure grant will fund improvements to the port's East River Terminal, where bulk goods are loaded and unloaded from ships.
The project includes constructing a new 540-foot (165-meter) dock after demolishing the old one and replacing half of a second dock on the site. Federal funding will also cover the cost of installing new electrical and water systems at the terminal and dredging one berth to increase the depth for ships to dock.
A car is unloaded from a ship at the Georgia Port Authority's Colonel's Island facility in Brunswick, Georgia, Tuesday, February 2, 2010. The port is rapidly becoming a hub for automobile imports and exports. Georgia's Port of Brunswick will receive $15 million through a U.S. Department of Transportation grant under the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021. (Stephen Morton/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Warnock said in a statement that the port project will “ease the flow of shipping traffic and commerce in the state's major economic hub.”
The federal grant will cover about half of the total cost of the terminal improvements, which the Georgia Ports Authority aims to complete by 2027.
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“This $15 million federal grant will make Georgia's forest products and other products more powerful in global markets through competitive ports,” Georgia Ports Authority Chief Administrative Officer Jamie McCurry said in a statement. We will be able to compete.”
The authority operates the state-run seaports in Savannah and Brunswick. The grant award comes as he invests $262 million in upgrades and expansions at Brunswick to help the Port Authority handle increased traffic. Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is working on a $17.5 million project to widen and deepen part of Brunswick's shipping channel.
The infrastructure law, a priority of President Joe Biden that passed Congress with support from Democrats and Republicans, would provide $1 trillion for roads, bridges, ports, rail transit, power grids and broadband internet. be.
