The Twin Ports broke ground Wednesday on the port authority’s largest project to improve freight transportation in decades, an expansion of cargo docks at the port’s Garfield Pier.
Representatives of Congress, the U.S. DOT and Duluth Seaway Port Authority broke ground on the $17.7 million construction project. Danielle Kaeding/WPR
Members of Congress joined representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Duluth Seaway Port Authority at the groundbreaking for the $17.7 million construction project. DOT Maritime Administrator Paul Jaenichen said it will improve connections to roads and rail.
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“That physical infrastructure is what is going to allow this port to be a gateway for domestic and global markets,” Jaenichen said.
Duluth Seaway Port Authority Executive Director Vanta Coda agreed, saying, “We are the furthest inland port into the west. We are the stopping point for any place in western Canada and the western U.S. We are well-suited to handle their cargo.”
The redevelopment of the 28-acre site includes removal of past contamination, dredging around 60,000 yards of sediment, resurfacing and more.
The port authority applied for federal grant funding five times before receiving a $10 million Transportation Infrastructure Generation Economic Recovery grant. The Minnesota Port Development Assistance Program provided $2.75 million for the project and around $990,000 from Minnesota’s Contamination Cleanup Grant program. The port authority is investing more than $3.9 million to refurbish the pier.
The first phase of the project will double cargo capacity and is set to wrap up in the fall.
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