The Port of Long Beach will receive a record amount of nearly $70 million in federal funding allocated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revitalize critical infrastructure that will promote safe and efficient freight transportation at the nation’s busiest seaport complex.
The funds drawn from the Harbor Maintenance Tax are collected by the federal government from ports based on the value of imports, some domestic cargo and on cruise passengers. Established by Congress in 1986 to fund dredging projects at U.S. seaports, funds from the Harbor Maintenance Tax were typically collected from but not directed to ports like the Port of Long Beach. The Water Resources Development Act of 2020, however, expanded the use of funds to include in-water maintenance and repair projects, allowing for a more equitable distribution among large and small seaports.
Combined, the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles will receive a record $148 million as part of the Army Corps of Engineers work plan.
At the Port of Long Beach, funding will support projects that include maintenance dredging, replacing the steel bulkhead along the Back Channel, upgrading fenders and bollards, repairing berthing systems, seismic retrofit and repairs for the Pier C wharf, seismic improvement of the Pier F dike and miscellaneous rock dike and wharf repairs throughout the port. About $500 million in eligible projects are planned during the next decade. (....)