Arkansas Invests $4.6M in 5 Port Infrastructure Projects
Fort Smith Port Receives Largest Grant at $1.98M for Warehouse Space; Chicot-Desha Port Authority Gets Money for Truck, Grain Scales
Key Takeaways:
- Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders awarded $4.6 million to five Arkansas port infrastructure projects to enhance the state’s waterway system and economic growth.
- The largest grant of $1.98 million went to Fort Smith for port upgrades, with other awards funding safety, erosion prevention and access improvements across the state.
- The grants, requiring matching investments, come from a state program funded by industry taxes and aim to strengthen Arkansas’ trade capacity and transportation network.
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders $4.6 million to five port infrastructure projects to help boost the state’s economy.
“Arkansas sits in the heart of the heartland and is connected to some of the nation’s most dynamic metro areas by river, rail, road and runway,” Sanders said. She noted that approval of the five grants “strengthens our commitment to preserving Arkansas’ waterways, safeguarding a cornerstone of North American trade and opening new doors for economic growth in the Natural State.”
Arkansas has 1,000 miles of navigable waterways connected to domestic markets and coastal ports in the Gulf of Mexico. The state boasts five navigation systems: the Mississippi River, the Red River, the White River, the McClellan‐Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and the Ouachita-Black Navigation System.
The grant funding is derived from the Arkansas Port, Intermodal and Waterway Development Grant Program, which obtains grant money from ad valorem taxes that industries pay to ship commodities on state waterways.
The largest grant, at $1.98 million, went to the City of Fort Smith Port Authority on the Arkansas River to invest in warehouse space, a storage pad for concrete materials and signage. The port in the northwestern part of the state mainly handles steel products, such as coiled plates, wire rod and steel bars.
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The Osceola Port Authority, 175 miles northeast of Little Rock, will receive $1.34 million to build retaining walls to prevent bank erosion. Located along the Mississippi River near Interstate 55, the port handles 200,000 tons of agricultural products annually.
The Little Rock Port Authority on the Arkansas River was granted $665,550 to install safety railings and gates along three dock edges. The grant will also pay for three claw lid lifters as well as eight sectional barges to create a floating dock for lid-handling. The port is located less than 10 miles from Little Rock along the banks of the Arkansas River in the center of the state. The smallest grants were:
- $400,000 for the Central Arkansas Intermodal Authority in Morrilton for a road project in a new port area along on the Arkansas River.
- $199,917 to the Chicot-Desha Port Authority in McGehee to relocate and refurbish truck and grain scales at a facility next to the Mississippi River.
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“These projects serve a wide range of needs — from safety to erosion prevention, to enhancing economic viability — helping the Arkansas Waterways Commission achieve its mission of developing, promoting and protecting Arkansas’ commercially navigable waterways,” said John Edwards, chairman of the Arkansas Waterways Commission.
The grants require a matching 10% investment for development projects and 50% for dredging. The state will fund capital improvements, port developments, land-side infrastructure, real estate purchases for port expansion and dredging projects.
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To qualify for the grants, port projects must be commercially viable and earmarked for public port or intermodal authority developments along the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ouachita, Red and White rivers.
Arkansas waterways move cargo such as grain, fertilizer, steel and petroleum products continuously throughout the year since its climate keep rivers free of ice during the winter months. Every county in the state contains a navigable river within 65 miles.
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