BUILD Grant Helps Plan Central Louisiana Port Growth

A federal grant award is helping the Central Louisiana Regional Port plan for its next 20 years in business.

The port recently received $722,400 from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the 2026 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program. That funding, along with the required local match of $180,600 the port is providing, will allow for the creation of a 20-year multimodal port master plan.

Located at Mile 91 on the Red River in Alexandria, La., the Central Louisiana Regional Port is less than 100 miles by barge from the Mississippi River and roughly 173 barge miles from both the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. It is one mile from both Interstate 49 and the developing Interstate 14 corridor, connecting west Texas to Georgia. An international airport is within five miles, and two Class 1 railroads are nearby.

The port moved 1.7 million tons of cargo by barge last year, Executive Director Ben Russo said. It has separate breakbulk and liquid docks along with two general cargo docks and spans 300 acres. Its fuel terminal serves 32 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana and is typically the farthest south of barge-operated fuel terminals outside of hurricane force winds when a hurricane hits the coast.

The plan couldn’t come at a better time for the port, which is experiencing rapid growth.

One tenant, DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations, plans on moving from its existing 73,000-square-foot building at the port to a new port facility, consisting of an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing space with 12 overhead cranes, three 25,000-square-foot warehouses and 30 acres of hardstand.

When it moves, that will leave the former building empty. With a 40-ton overhead crane that can access the dock, Russo believes it could be a prime space for a maritime business.

The new DIS-TRAN facility will use much of the port’s remaining useable acreage, although port partners are in possession of 40 acres of adjacent space that could be developed.

“We’re going to evaluate every aspect of the port’s future transportation, infrastructure needs, including freight movement by barge, rail and truck, industrial expansion opportunities and strategic property acquisitions,” Russo said.

Additionally, he said, the port is involved in transportation of vehicles and other equipment for the military, so Russo wants to be sure that future development is in line with military logistics.

A U.S. Marine Highways grant also recently funded a 275-ton lattice boom crane, a 55,000-pound forklift and an electric magnet, which must be integrated into the plan.

Long-term capital improvement needs and environmental resiliency efforts will also be important to consider, he said.

Ultimately, Russo wants the port’s future development to be a catalyst for economic development in central Louisiana and able to accommodate new customers while meeting the future needs of existing businesses throughout the region.

As an example, he said, “We have data centers that are locating in our area. We’re trying to figure out how we respond in a timely manner to what these people are needing or for some of the manufacturers in our area. I don’t want to develop something that is just going to sit there for 30 years and never be used. That’s a waste of everybody’s time and money.”

He expects the plan to be ready in about a year.