The US Department of Transportation Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, has announced that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has now designated 848 new miles of navigable waterways and approved 14 additional sponsors for the US Marine Highway Program (USMHP).
The network covers 27,139 miles across 35 designated routes, providing support for US supply chains, critical infrastructure and maritime workforce development.
Of the routes expanded, the DOT has highlighted the strengthening of the M-90 route running 2,345 miles through the Great Lakes. The route connects Minnesota to New York, and has now received seven new sponsors in the State Departments of Transportation for Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and New York, as well as the Ports of Indiana and the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority.
U.S. Transportation Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, said:Coming from the Midwest, I’ve seen firsthand how maritime dominance isn’t just about our oceans. Our nation's many rivers and inland ports are crucial resources to moving great American products to markets across the country and around the world.
Expanding the Marine Highway Program will strengthen the Great Lakes economy and other regional communities.
The USMHP aims to award federal grants to a number of eligible public and private-sector projects along designated routes, with route sponsors responsible for the endorsement of applicants seeking federal assistance under the USMHP grant programme, as well as the ensuring of localised oversight for marine transportation proposals within their respective regions.
Newly designated routes include:
- M-23 (20 miles): Big Sandy River – Co-sponsored by Kentucky and West Virginia DOTs
- M-24 (382 miles): Cumberland River – Co-sponsored by Kentucky and Tennessee DOTs
- M-165 (109 miles): Green River – Sponsored by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
- M-167 (337 miles): Ouachita River – Co-sponsored by Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development and Arkansas Waterways Commission
