Inland, Gulf And Great Lakes Ports Win FY 2026 PIDP Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced October 27 that the Maritime Administration (MarAd) will award $498 million to 35 projects in 19 states through its Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). Fourteen of the awards, from both the large and small project categories, go to inland river, Gulf Coast and Great Lakes ports, according to MarAd’s award list.

“The strength of our nation’s economy is directly tied to the state of our ports,” Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said.

Inland Rivers

Paducah, Ky.: The Paducah Riverport-West Full Buildout Project received $40,019,903.61 to build three fixed barge berths totaling 620 feet, about one mile of heavy-haul access road, site elevation above the 500-year floodplain, an industrial rail spur connecting to three Class I railroads and initial cargo-handling equipment, creating a fully operational multimodal port facility on the Ohio River.

Peoria, Ill.: The Peoria Multimodal River Terminal Project received $11,250,000 to redevelop an Illinois River brownfield into a multi-commodity inland marine terminal for agricultural products, steel, critical minerals and industrial raw commodities. The work includes a dock, loading conveyors, storage bins, scales and sampling, and overland conveyors.

Muskogee, Okla.: The Port Muskogee Barge Safety & Efficiency Improvement Project received $11,073,832 to install 18 replacement mooring dolphin structures on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

Morris, Ill.: The Grundy County Multimodal Terminal Expansion Project received $10,987,800 to extend a barge slip from 185 feet to about 300 feet. The project covers engineering, earthwork, civil site work, onsite roads, mooring dolphins, targeted dredging, electrical work, a slip working platform, marine winches and cargo-handling machinery, including a material handler, loader and skid steer.

Red Wing, Minn.: The Red Wing Agricultural Expansion and Port Infrastructure Economic Advancement Project received $10,161,985 to reconstruct the port’s barge loading system, conveyors, electric winch and dust collection systems and elevate the loadout above the 100-year floodplain. It also funds barge access gangways, a floating dock barge and permanent earth berms.

Rock Island, Ill.: The Port of Rock Island Expansion and Rehabilitation Project received $9,015,143 for six elements: a new barge progression system, new on-site conveyance, dock wall rehabilitation and expansion, redevelopment of the dock in the Buzzi Unicem area, a new dome with integrated conveyance and rail improvements.

Granite City, Ill.: The Granite City Rail Reconstruction Project received $6,772,000 to rehabilitate more than 9,400 track feet, including ballast, ties and rail, replace 12 turnouts and add two crossovers.

Simmesport, La.: The Port of Avoyelles’ Multimodal Truck to Barge Grain Transfer Facility Project received $4 million for truck receiving with certified scales, an enclosed high-capacity grain conveyor, a barge-loading tower with telescoping dust-control spouts, mooring piles with a powered winch and site improvements.

Gulf Coast

Freeport, Texas: The Inner Harbor Berth 3 Modernization Project at Port Freeport received $9,412,500 to replace a 25-year-old bulk rice loader, install a rack system in the rice storage shed and move the shed’s southern wall about 100 feet to create additional berthing space.

Corpus Christi, Texas: The Port of Corpus Christi’s Digital Infrastructure, Integration and Innovation (DI3) Project received $7,153,376 for a digital twin and multi-modal sensing, including LiDAR, multibeam and side-scan sonar, high-definition cameras and transponders to provide continuous situational awareness across pipeline, rail, roadway and waterway infrastructure.

Bay St. Louis, Miss.: The Intermodal Facility on Site 4 Project received $6 million for a cargo warehouse of about 50,000 square feet at Port Bienville.

Great Lakes

Milwaukee, Wis.: The Lake Michigan Marine Highway Transportation Energy Project received $30,407,281 to extend a refined petroleum pipeline from its terminus near Milwaukee’s international airport to the U.S. Venture terminal at Port Milwaukee.

Portage, Ind.: The Burns Harbor Container-Handling Modernization Project received $11,205,600 for equipment to support Great Lakes container service, including a mobile harbor crane with attachments, reach stackers with attachments, breakbulk and container-handling equipment, off-road trucks, container trailers and an empty container top handler.

Chicago: The Lake Calumet Terminal Modernization Planning Study Project received $600,000 for field engineering inspections, an underwater structural inspection, a condition assessment, planning-level cost estimates, localized benefit-cost analyses and an update to the capital improvement plan.

MarAd’s full list of fiscal year 2026 awards is at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2026-10/2026%20PIDP%20Grant%20Awards.pdf.