Wisconsin Invests $10.8M in 5 Harbor Infrastructure Projects
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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers granted $10.8 million on Jan. 15 for five harbor infrastructure projects to improve the movement of freight and the state’s supply chain.
“As billions of dollars of cargo move through our ports each year, maintaining and improving these critical parts of our state’s infrastructure is exceedingly important to ensuring Wisconsin’s businesses and producers can get products to market and we can keep building the 21st-century infrastructure we need to compete in a global economy,” Evers said.
The state money has been allocated for harbor maintenance and construction projects in Green Bay, La Crosse, La Pointe, Manitowoc and Marinette to strengthen the supply chain for waterborne freight and promote economic development in local communities.
“The ripple effects of these grants will be felt statewide as we continue investing to strengthen Wisconsin’s maritime economy,” state Transportation Secretary Kristina Boardman said. “Supporting all modes of transportation is imperative to improving infrastructure and quality of life for residents and businesses across our state.”
Evers
The largest grant ($3 million) will go to Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette to dredge, repair dock walls and install mooring bollards and fenders. The site was founded in 1942 along the Menominee River.
“This funding will help us with essential projects — dredging and installing new mooring equipment — to ensure efficient and safe ship deliveries for the U.S. Navy, now and in the future,” a statement from Fincantieri Marine Group said.
A $2.3 million grant will enable Hanke Terminal Inc. in La Crosse to build a commodity storage facility to import and export operations on the Mississippi River. The barge terminal is run by Hanke Trucking Inc., founded in 1985 as a full-service transportation company serving the Midwest. Based in Slinger, Hanke has terminal offices in La Crosse, Reedsburg and Waupaca. Its transportation services include end-dump, flatbed and pneumatic tank services, as well as barge and rail transloading.
A $2 million grant is going to the Port of Green Bay, the western-most port of Lake Michigan, and the Fox River Port Development Site to regrade the property to create a new transload facility at the mouth of the Fox River. State funds also will pay for dredging, installing a dock wall and filling behind a bulkhead.
The port is a critical part of the state’s transportation system and serves as a multimodal distribution center linking vessels with highways and rail transportation. The port currently has 14 terminal operators along the Fox River in northeastern Wisconsin.
Located in Manitowoc along Lake Michigan, City Centre was awarded a $1.8 million grant to build an area to assemble, test and ship port cranes. The remaining $808,000 award was allocated to the local ferry and harbor commission at the Town of La Pointe on Madeline Island to renovate the ferry landing and dredge harbors to improve the transportation of goods and passenger travel over Lake Superior between the island and the coastal town of Bayfield.
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