Arkansas Ports Awarded Improvement Grants
The Arkansas Waterways Commission recently awarded nearly $3.5 million to six Arkansas ports. Phyllis Harden, commission chair, said the grants were awarded on the basis of improving safety and according to what the commission members saw as the areas of greatest need.
“We had six excellent presenters and applications,” she said at an August 7 meeting.
The Central Arkansas Intermodal Authority—located on the Arkansas River near Lewisburg—was awarded $187,425 to build a new riverport access road. It estimated the total project cost at $1,048,650.
The Chicot-Desha Intermodal Authority received $250,000 toward a project to rehabilitate and modernize a water storage tank tower and well house at the Port of Yellow Bend at an estimated total cost of $607,277.69.
The City of Fort Smith Port Authority was awarded $500,000 to help build a new 30,000-square-foot warehouse that is estimated to cost $1,775,624.
The Little Rock Port Authority also received $500,000 toward a project to upgrade its mooring facility and restore and expand barge fleeting capacity. That project’s total cost is $4,675,000, with $1 million needed to complete it.
The Osceola Port Authority on the Mississippi River was awarded just over $1 million toward construction of a 420-foot retaining wall along the west bank at the center barge loading dock to prevent further bank caving.
The Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority received $1 million for a variety of improvements, including the repair of a dock face, new main and batter piles and broken pile removal. The grant will also help with dredging the dock area in the slackwater harbor, at an estimated cost of $310,000.
