Port of Olympia to receive $9.27 million grant for marine terminal upgrades
The Port of Olympia will receive a federal grant of almost $9.3 million from U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program to upgrade the port’s marine terminal.
News of the grant was shared with the port commission during a commission work session on Monday, and the state’s U.S. Senators announced the award on Friday.
The federal grant will be combined with a $3 million match from the port, giving it about $12 million to repair the under-structure of Berth 1, to repave the cargo handling area at the marine terminal, and to build a new maintenance facility, Port Executive Director Sam Gibboney told the commission.
The structural repairs to Cargo Berth One will support increased use of the existing mobile harbor crane, according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s Office. Part of the goal of the grant program is to address issues discovered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when port congestion caused supply chain issues.
“That’s a pile of money,” said Commissioner Joe Downing. “We haven’t seen that much money in a handful of years, so that’s a big leg up for some of the projects that Sam has outlined and that we have been worried about.”
However, construction likely won’t begin until 2024, Gibboney said.
A total of $71.4 million in Port Infrastructure Development grants were awarded to five ports in the state, Cantwell’s office said.
Other ports set to receive funds include the Port of Seattle ($17 million), Port of Port Angeles ($8.6 million), Port of La Conner ($11 million) and the Port of Grays Harbor, which will receive $25.5 million.
According to the Daily World, the Grays Harbor money will be used to construct an additional 50,000 feet of rail to accommodate unit trains and railcar storage. The funding also will help repurpose a 50-acre brownfield site into a breakbulk cargo handling and laydown area as well as complete access and roadway improvements and replace marine terminal fendering systems.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
