10.28.22

Port of Olympia to Receive $9.2 Million Boost to Maritime Economy, Cantwell Announces

Funds will be used to repave cargo handling area, build new maintenance facility and support use of harbor crane

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell announced that the Port of Olympia will receive a $9,270,918 federal grant to construct a new maintenance facility and repair existing infrastructure. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).

According to the Port of Olympia, this PIDP grant will be used to repair and/or replace pavement in approximately 21 acres of cargo handling area, construct a new maintenance facility, and make structural repairs to Cargo Berth One to support increased use of an existing mobile harbor crane. The improvement project also includes an updated facility condition assessment and final design and engineering work.

“As the southernmost port in the Puget Sound, the Port of Olympia has a key role in our regional supply chain and in the economic development of Thurston County and the South Sound. Upgrading Cargo Berth One and building a new maintenance facility will ensure that the Port can expand their cargo handling capacity and support good family wage jobs in the region,” Sen. Cantwell said.

The award was one of five PIDP grants awarded to ports in the State of Washington totaling $71.4 million.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell worked to include a record $2.25 billion for the program in the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law. In September 2021, Sen. Cantwell led a letter calling to boost funding for the PIDP program to help address the ongoing issues with port congestion.

Sen. Cantwell has consistently championed and coauthored the 2019 legislation that reauthorized MARAD and the PIDP grant program. Sen. Cantwell is currently fighting to reauthorize MARAD and the PIDP grant program in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Most recently, the MARAD and PIDP were reauthorized in the 2021 National Defense Reauthorization Act, a provision authored by Sen. Cantwell.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, port congestion significantly impacted Washington state residents. Ships carrying perishables have been held up, sometimes for weeks, causing produce to rot in their containers, resulting in huge losses and reduced food supply. Along with securing more PIDP funding, Sen. Cantwell was instrumental in passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to strengthen maritime supply chains and protect Washington farmers and exporters from shipping companies’ unfair practices.