Corn Belt Ports gain $1.24 Billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Ports above Locks and Dam 26, known by their grouping as the Corn Belt Ports, have attracted $35 million in port infrastructure investments over the last several months.

The Corn Belt Ports were federally recognized in 2020 and 2021. In addition to these recent infrastructure investments, millions more in grants for the Corn Belt Ports are now available through the $450 million Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), and the $1.5 billion Rebuild American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program.

This is part of the largest U.S. ports investment ever, and it was made possible by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These additional federal grant opportunities will help our ports expand capacity and improve the movement of goods through our supply chains. These grants would be in addition to the recent port investments made by the states and the federal government identified below.

And, this is in addition to the $1.24 Billion of waterways-related investments in the Corn Belt Ports area recently released as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers IIJA Work Plan.

The recent Port Infrastructure investments made to the Corn Belt Ports include $13.1 million for the Mid-America Port Commission of Quincy.

According to Chuck Bevelheimer, director of planning at the city of Quincy, rising Mississippi River waters have halted barge operation five times over the past 10 years. Once the dock height is raised, barge loading operations could continue right up until the point where locks and dams would have to be closed. Bevelheimer said barge-to-rail access would be “a huge asset for us.” Work should begin this year. 

The grant from the state was the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes work by port promoters in the state. Among those is Charles Bell, executive director of the Mid-America Intermodal Authority Port District, who estimates he has spent about 15 years promoting the port district.

With other Illinois port directors, Bell helped Illinois ports organize themselves into the Illinois Ports Association and create relationships with Illinois governors and legislators. The ports’ efforts paid off in 2019, when port improvements received their own line item in the Illinois state budget for the first time in the state’s history.  

It was right around that time, Bell said, that the Illinois Department of Transportation designated a port and waterways person. “The state administration is supporting a waterways plan as part of an overall transportation plan,” Bell said. “It’s the first time, really, that the state has recognized waterways as an important part of the state’s transportation system.” 

Bell said former Illinois Secretary of Transportation Ann Schneider first promoted the importance of the Illinois ports to the Illinois freight transportation system.

“A lot of people deserve to share the credit in keeping this effort moving,” Bell told The Waterways Journal. 

Quincy grant Is one of three

The Quincy grant was one of three to Illinois port districts made at the same time. The Upper Mississippi River International Port District, a smaller port district located at the northwest corner of the state on the east bank of the Mississippi River, was awarded $7 million for land acquisition, remediation and utilities at the port of Savanna, Ill.

“This is the first major state or federal investment in the Upper Mississippi River International Port
District (UMRIPD) since it was recognized by the State of Illinois in 2009, and the federal government in UMRIPD is excited to have been granted the opportunity to begin master planning and infrastructure preparation to develop a sustainable, 21st-century ports facility that will drive economic
development in our region for decades to come,” said Kevin Stier, chairman of the Upper
Mississippi River International Port District. “This investment by the State of Illinois enables us to
achieve a major component of our port capital development plans. We do anticipate additional
investment from the federal government in grant funding as part of the Port Infrastructure Development
Program included in the recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.”