Port Everglades awarded $19 million modernization grant

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida's Port Everglades has been awarded a $19 million federal grant to modernize several cargo docks, port officials said this month.

The grant is from the U.S. Department of Transportation and is part of the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).

The project will replace roughly 1,650 linear feet of bulkheads (sea wall) at Berths 16, 17, and 18, according to a press release announcing the grant. The project includes new steel sheet pile bulkheads with concrete caps, cathodic protection, mooring hardware and fendering systems, dockside utility extensions, berth apron pavement, drainage system improvements, and seafloor habitat surveys and mitigation.

“The new bulkheads are planned and designed to account for sea level rise and accommodate new generations of larger cargo and cruise vessels,” Port Everglades Chief Executive Officer and Port Director Jonathan Daniels, said in the press release.

More than $703 million has been slated to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory as part of the Maritime Administration's PIDP, according to the Department of Transportation. The PIDP supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve port and related freight infrastructure to meet the nation's freight transportation needs and ensure port infrastructure can meet anticipated growth in freight volumes.