WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded $52.3 million to the Port of Long Beach and $5.2 million to the Port of Oakland. This competitive grant funding from the Port Infrastructure Development Program will support projects to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of our supply chain.

“California’s ports are the busiest in America and are the gateways for the bulk of products moving in and out of the United States,” Senator Padilla said. “The pandemic has underscored the importance–and the urgency–of modernizing our port infrastructure. I’ve been proud to advocate for the funding and resources that our ports need, and I am glad to see the progress the Biden administration is already making to alleviate supply chain disruptions. These grants will help strengthen the Ports of Long Beach and Oakland for years to come, ensuring goods can move efficiently to businesses and consumers across the country.”

“This is great news to hear at the end of what will be our busiest year ever,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We appreciate the U.S. Department of Transportation’s support for this important project. It will help to move cargo more efficiently through the Port, getting needed products and goods to homes and businesses across America faster.”

“We’ve got an ambitious clean air goal for maritime operations at the Port of Oakland.” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan. “We appreciate this grant from the US Department of Transportation; it is an important step in achieving our goal of zero emissions at our seaport.”

The Long Beach grant will support the construction of a new locomotive facility, extension of the east rail yard, and extension of the west rail yard. The Oakland grant will support a project to replace an existing electrical substation and circuit located within the Port facility. Additionally, the project will construct a new on-site fuel cell facility, a solar array with battery storage, and establish a direct connection between the Port’s substation and the local electric utility’s biomass-fuel generator.

Senator Padilla has made investing in port infrastructure a key priority. In November, he visited the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to meet with port officials and discuss the steps being taken to help ease the bottleneck of goods. He also spoke with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of the partnership between California and DOT to help strengthen and improve the capacity of the supply chain with multi-billion dollar infrastructure improvements.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Padilla voted for and President Biden signed into law will provide approximately $17 billion for port and waterway infrastructure across the country and billions more for improving freight rail, which will help build resiliency in our transportation supply chain for decades to come. It will also decrease the environmental impact of ports, with funding for electrification and zero-emission technologies to address pollution and congestion in nearby communities.

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