Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg To Present Major Grant To Port

TAMPA, FL — On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, and Port Tampa Bay CEO and President Paul Anderson will join U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg at Port Tampa Bay to celebrate a $12.6 million grant to the port through President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law.

The port’s funding allocation is part of $1.5 billion in grant funding made available through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program.

Port Tampa Bay will use the RAISE funding to create Berth 301 at its satellite facility in Port Redwing. The new berth will provide room for a third large ship, adding capacity, jobs and strengthening the supply chain of one of the country's busiest ports.

“The berth 301 project will have a generational impact on our community in terms of economic development and well-paying jobs," said Anderson. "Port Redwing has seen tremendous growth since the deepening and expansion of the Big Bend Channel. As our community continues to see record population growth, it is important to provide an efficient way to move construction and other bulk cargoes. This project optimizes supply chain economics and helps keep wear and tear on roads to a minimum.”

In the past year, the port handled more than 1 million tons at Port Redwing. Port tenants and customers, including the Mosaic Co., Logistec, SESCO, Ardent Mills and Precision Build Solutions/Tampa Tank/Florida Structural Steel, will directly benefit from this project "with the ability to diversify their operations and make long-term plans and commitments to serving our region," Anderson said. "The project makes an important and immediate economic difference for West and Central Florida’s non-containerized industries, including cement, prilled sulfur, aggregates, steel, food and agriculture, wallboard and construction, and project cargo, among others."

He noted that nearly 10 million people live within 75 miles of the port and roughly 200,000 new residents have made their homes in Hillsborough County in the last decade.

"In addition to the economic benefits, this project will also eliminate nearly three million truck miles annually and reduce wear and tear in nearby communities, which will cut emissions, enhance roadway safety and improve truck operations," Anderson said.

“Port Tampa Bay is the lifeblood of our community, the economic engine that keeps everything from cargo and trade to products on our shelves running smoothly," U.S. Rep. Castor said. "We need help to lower costs and untangle supply chains, and this $12.6 million investment in Port Tampa Bay will help modernize the Port Redwing facility and ensure Tampa Bay businesses can grow and thrive."

In addition to the grant funding, there will be additional investments, including a private one, from Port Tampa Bay to complete the project, Anderson said.

“The foundation of our economic growth and quality of life here in the Tampa Bay region is especially dependent on two things: infrastructure and people,” said Mayor Castor, a governing board member of the port. “This new berth will provide Port Tampa Bay with greater capacity for bigger ships, giving us the infrastructure that we need to strengthen our supply chain in one of the country’s fastest-growing regions.”

The visit is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Building a Better America Tour. Federal transportation leaders will travel across the country this week to highlight 166 infrastructure projects that will modernize roads, bridges and other infrastructure to help get people where they need to go more quickly, affordably and safely.

“These are transformative projects, and there are more to come thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law,” Mayor Castor said. “From safer streets with fewer potholes to investments in transit and reconnecting neighborhoods, this bill will be transformative for communities across this country. Secretary Buttigieg, thank you for your support of this important project and we look forward to working with you as we bring our infrastructure into the future.”

As part of the tour, this week Secretary Buttigieg will also travel to Oklahoma, Nevada, Minnesota, Ohio, and New Hampshire to highlight how President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping grow the economy and reduce transportation costs for people across the country.

Read more about all five grants recently awarded to Florida here.