Transportation and Infrastructure

California’s port system will get a $1.5 billion upgrade, according to Sourcing Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: “The Port of Los Angeles has been awarded $233 million in grants, while the Port of Long Beach received $383 million. The Port of Oakland got $119 million in funding, and the Port of Hueneme received $80 million.”

• “$1.2 billion will go to 15 projects designed to increase the capacity to move goods throughout the state’s global trade gateways while lessening environmental impacts on neighboring communities.”
• At Los Angeles, grant-funded improvements are set to include “a project that augments an existing partial roadway that directly serves 10 percent of all waterborne containers entering and exiting the entire United States.”

The background: The investment announcement by California Gov. Gavin Newsom late last week came less than a month after the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union—dockworkers and their employer, respectively—reached a tentative six-year labor agreement at all 29 West Coast ports.

Why it’s important: The grants will decrease port congestion, boost business, add jobs and help operations use more zero-emissions energy, sources told the publication.

What we’re saying: “These types of congestion- and capacity-focused upgrades will ensure that ports across California remain operationally sound for years to come,” said NAM Director of Infrastructure, Innovation and Human Resources Policy Ben Siegrist.

• “As with the historic investment funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law, these improvements will keep products flowing and manufacturing lines open.”