Corn Belt Ports Gain $41.4 Million In PIDP Grants
The Corn Belt Ports did particularly well in the U.S. Maritime Association’s October 27 announcement of Port Infrastructure Development Grant Program (PIDP) grant recipients.
In total, MarAd awarded $41,414,928 in PIDP grants to the four regional inland ports in the Heart of the Corn Belt, all located above Locks and Dam 26 on the Upper Mississippi River. Since 2003, a total of $143 million has been invested by MarAd in 11 rural port infrastructure programs in the region.
Robert Sinkler, executive director and founder of the Corn Belt Ports, said, “The regionalization of the ports in the Heart of the Corn Belt is paying off. We appreciated the support from the riverfront communities, counties and states that have passed the resolutions and legislation that made this happen. We always benefit from the superb bipartisan leadership our U.S. senators and U.S. representatives provide. They authorize and appropriate the PIDP funds that ensure we have modern, safe, reliable and dependable access to global markets and ensure we have the world’s best rural supply chain infrastructure to support agriculture, manufacturing and defense logistics.”
The most recent MarAd PIDP grant awards are as follows.
Morris, Ill. (Illinois Waterway Ports Commission Area)
The Grundy County Multimodal Terminal Expansion Project was awarded $10,987,800. The project will extend the existing barge slip from 185 feet to approximately 300 feet. Additional elements include engineering, earthwork, civil site development, on-site road improvements, mooring dolphins, targeted dredging, electrical systems, a slip working platform, marine winches and cargo-handling machinery consisting of a material handler, loader and skid steer.
Peoria, Ill. (Illinois Waterway Ports Commission Area)
The Peoria Multimodal River Terminal Project was awarded $11,250,000. The project will redevelop a previously used Illinois River brownfield parcel into a modern, multi-commodity inland marine terminal serving agriculture, the steel and critical minerals supply chain and the domestic industrial raw-commodity network. The project consists of five elements: a dock, loading conveyors, storage bins, scales and sampling equipment and overland conveyors.
Rock Island, Ill. (Upper Mississippi River Ports of Iowa and Illinois Area)
The Port of Rock Island Expansion and Rehabilitation Project was awarded $9,015,143. The project will rehabilitate and expand six functionally integrated capital elements: a new barge progression system; a new on-site conveyance system; dock wall rehabilitation and expansion; dock redevelopment of the Buzzi Unicem area; a new dome with integrated conveyance; and rail improvements.
Red Wing, Minn. (Northern Grain Belt Ports (Area)
The Red Wing Agricultural Expansion and Port Infrastructure Economic Advancement Project was awarded $10,161,985. The project will reconstruct the Red Wing Grain port facility’s barge loading system, conveyors, electric winch system and dust collection systems to increase cargo throughput and elevate the loadout infrastructure above the 100-year floodplain. Additional grant-funded components include installing barge access gangways, a floating dock barge and permanent earth berms.
The complete list of PIDP grant awardees can be found at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/sites/marad.dot.gov/files/2026-10/2026%20PIDP%20Grant%20Awards.pdf.
For more information, contact Chris Smith, the Corn Belt Ports director of operations, at Chris.Smith@cornbeltports.com or 816-853-6411.
