DOT Puts $498 Million Into 19 States' Port Projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation will pump $498 million into 35 port infrastructure projects across 19 states, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy's department announced Tuesday.

The money flows through the Maritime Administration's Port Infrastructure Development Program, the main federal grant pipeline for dock, berth and cargo-handling upgrades. This round lands as the program itself approaches a fiscal cliff.

The American Association of Port Authorities called the awards vital to U.S. economic and national security — then immediately flagged the catch. Fiscal Year 2026 marks the final cycle of advanced PIDP appropriations drawn from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and that pot is nearly spent.

What happens when the money runs out?

"Funding for PIDP is set to dramatically decline next year, barring much-needed Congressional action," AAPA said in its statement. The association wants the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization to restore advanced appropriations for PIDP, arguing America's ports need dependable funding "to keep our nation's supply chains strong and fluid."

For port operators and their carrier customers, the stakes are straightforward. PIDP has been the difference between berths rebuilt for larger vessels and projects shelved for lack of capital. Shippers benefit when ports can take bigger, more economical ships; forwarders benefit when dockside capacity stops being the bottleneck. A funding drop-off in FY2027 would push more of that cost onto port authorities, and ultimately onto rates.

Which projects won money?

The awarded schemes span coastal energy terminals, small West Coast ports and Great Lakes container operations. Examples cited by AAPA include:

• A digital twin model, multi-modal sensing hardware and software programming resources for a major energy export hub in Texas
• Restoration of existing piles, beams, deck surfaces and berthing systems to rehabilitate a berth at a small Northern California port
• New cargo handling equipment — mobile harbor cranes and reach stackers — to expand container trade on the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes award is notable for container operators. Reach stackers and mobile cranes are the workhorses of smaller box trades, and the grant signals federal intent to grow inland-sea container capacity rather than concentrate volume at a handful of coastal megaports.

Port Everglades lands the headline project

The single most detailed award goes to Broward County, Florida. Port Everglades will receive $30.75 million to relocate a structural bulkhead and widen its slip to 450 feet — enough to accommodate significantly larger, more economical vessels such as Aframax-class tankers.

Port leaders say the improvements will strengthen resilience and safety while keeping fuel operations running during severe weather, a critical point for a gateway that anchors South Florida's fuel supply. The full public-private project is projected to cost $184.5 million and take three to four years to complete, with Phase 1 construction scheduled to begin in 2028.

The grant covers roughly one-sixth of that total, meaning Port Everglades must line up the remaining $150-plus million from county and private sources before the first pile is driven.

What's next?

The FY2026 awards go out as scheduled, but the program's trajectory now sits with Congress. Unless lawmakers fold advanced PIDP appropriations into the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization, the 2027 cycle will be dramatically smaller — and ports planning berth rehabilitations, equipment purchases or resilience upgrades will be budgeting for a funding gap rather than a federal partner.