Missouri Inland Ports Have Grant Funding Opportunity
Inland ports and terminals in Missouri have an opportunity to get state assistance for capital improvement purchases or projects that enhance their ability to handle and move freight. They will be competing with railroads, but they have until May 27 to apply.
The Missouri Department of Transportation program (MoDOT) is called the Freight Enhancement Program, and it is targeted to any transportation mode except roads. The program is “focused on improving and maintaining the high priority freight assets and corridors that are critical to the movement of freight into, out of, within and through Missouri,” according to its website.
The program is funded primarily through state-level appropriations authorized by the Missouri General Assembly and governor, frequently supported by federal grants related to rail, port and freight improvements. The program, managed by MoDOT, provides reimbursement for capital projects requiring at least a 20 percent local match.
Since FY 2014, 40 projects totaling more than $16.3 million have been funded through the program. Most are rail-oriented, but some grants have been awarded under the program to inland ports to buy capital equipment.
In 2022, Transport 360 received a $250,000 grant to purchase a hydraulic material handler to improve the timing and unloading of barges. The year before, the same terminal also received a $500,000 grant for the same purpose.
In 2019, Port KC received $195,613 to build a fertilizer dome at the port. AgriServices of Brunswick LLC, the largest port on the Missouri River, received $500,000 in 2017 to install a new conveyor and grain receiving pit for loading of additional barges. The City of St. Louis Port Authority used a $389,000 grant to rehabilitate a dock at its Municipal River Terminal in 2015.
More information, including evaluation criteria, is available at the project’s website at https://www.modot.org/freight-enhancement-program. Applications are being accepted for the State Fiscal Year 2027 Freight Enhancement Program through 5 p.m. May 27. Project eligibility and the application procedure are detailed in the notice on the site. Applications should be submitted electronically in Adobe.pdf format to MoFreight@modot.mo.gov.
