Owensboro Port Gets Grant To Expand Entry

The Owensboro (Ky.) Riverport Authority recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand the entry point leading to the port. Currently two lanes, the paved road into the port will be expanded to three lanes, said Brian Wright, president and CEO. The grant is for $11.52 million; the project will cost a total of $14.5 million, he said. Work on the entry will start in late 2020 or early 2021. It is expected to take two years.

While not directly related to the river, a new rail track and loading facility is nearing completion that will enable a local manufacturer to supply by rail Jeep frames to a destination in Toledo, Ohio, said Wright. In the same way that barges take trucks off the road, although not quite as dramatic, the new development is expected to have a like result, moving 100 auto bodies on a rail car as opposed to 15 on a truck.

“There’s nothing really new taking place on the river-side of our port right now,” Wright said, “except that the aluminum we normally get from China is not as great as it was last year, which we attribute to the tariffs.”

Owensboro Riverport encompasses 285 acres at Mile 759 on the Ohio River. The port has been in operation for over 40 years.