On December 23, 2021, the US Department of Transportation apportioned $241 million in grants to improve port cities around the United States. America’s Central Port (ACP) in Granite City, Illinois, was one of the fortunate recipients, securing a $4,140,000 grant for its Granite City Harbor Extension Project. The grant funds will help to further develop and renovate the harbor.
America Central Port District plans to use the funding to improve the harbor’s berth and cargo transfer operations. The project funded calls for extending the length of the harbor’s dock by nearly 30% (increasing handling capacity to six barges at once) and creating nearly half an acre of additional working surface to support cargo dock operations.
The project is the first and current phase of ACP’s dock improvement plan that will allow the facility to transform from handling one commodity (steel coils) today, to handling multiple commodities in the future, and increase the dock’s thruput from approximately 20,000 tons to 200,000 tons annually.
The added capacity will strengthen the St. Louis region’s position as a global freight hub.
