The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will receive more than $112 million combined through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Work Plan for construction upgrades, operations and maintenance.
The funding, which U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, announced on Monday, May 13, will go toward wharf and pier construction and repairs.
“San Pedro Bay ports move 40% of the nation’s container imports,” Padilla said in a news release, “transporting goods that power our economy.”
The funds, he added, will pay for “crucial upgrades” that will bolster global supply chains and “make long overdue repairs.”
The money comes from the Harbor Maintenance Tax, collected by the federal government from ports based on the value of imports, on some domestic cargo and on cruise passengers. The fund was established by Congress in 1986 to pay for dredging projects. But the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 expanded its use to include in-water maintenance and repair projects. That allowed for a more equitable distribution among both large and small seaports.
“We have long pushed for a fair share of Harbor Maintenance Tax funding to ports like ours, which traditionally have contributed more to the fund than they received,” Port of Long Beach DEO Mario Cordero, said in a press release.
The Port of L.A. expects to receive $58 million in federal funding while the Port of Long Beach is in line to receive $54 million to support approximately 31 miles of waterfront facilities.
The announcement, said U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, marks a significant milestone for the ports.
“As the former mayor of Long Beach,” he said in a statement, “I know first-hand how critical it is to invest in port infrastructure to maintain competitiveness.”
Los Angeles harbor commission President Lucille Roybal-Allard, who formerly served in Congress, expressed gratitude for the support in passing the funding.
“Addressing this disparity has taken years,” Roybal-Allard said in a news…
Read the full article here
