by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood took the Jacksonville Port Authority up on its offer Thursday and toured the TraPac container terminal at the Dames Point Marine Terminal, and pledged to help the port where he could.
“Over the last two and a half years, our department has made some very significant investments in ports. We believe that ports are a good investment because they create jobs. I have visited a number of ports around the country and, obviously, I am very impressed with what’s going on here,” said LaHood.
“This kind of facility improves the economy. We will continue to work very closely with the community leaders and port leadership to do what we can to be helpful as they present us with plans and ideas,” said LaHood.
Jacksonville Port Authority CEO Paul Anderson and State Sen. Tony Hill visited LaHood May 26 to discuss the port and its future plans.
“It fits the model that we are looking for in terms of investments we want to make in ports,” LaHood said Thursday.
“So we wanted to come here to give encouragement and see firsthand what folks have talked about when they have come from Jacksonville up to D.C.,” he said.
During the May 26 meeting, an offer was extended to LaHood to visit Jacksonville to witness what the port was doing to create jobs and serve as an economic driver for the city and the region.
LaHood has been traveling on transportation department business, stopping in Mexico Wednesday and heading next to Little Rock, Ark.
It was LaHood’s first trip to Jacksonville. He was appointed by then President-elect Barack Obama and took office Jan. 23, 2009.
The investments he discussed include the latest round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants.
LaHood recently announced that $527 million would be available in the third round of competitive grants that are a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The application deadline for the next round is Oct. 31.
The previous two rounds of the program provided $2.1 billion to 126 transportation projects in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and the response to the program has been overwhelming, he said.
The Department of Transportation received more than 2,500 applications requesting more than $79 billion for transportation projects across the country, including high-impact projects including roads, bridges, freight rail, transit buses and streetcars, ports, and bicycle and pedestrian paths.
The port authority previously applied for TIGER grant funds, but has not been successful in the application process. Thursday’s visit could change the port’s luck in that regard, LaHood indicated.
“Having the chance to put eyes on a project like this (the TraPac terminal) is helpful to us. We will take a very close look at the proposal that will be submitted by the Jacksonville port and it will get very serious consideration,” said LaHood.
He received a preview of that proposal from Anderson and Hill during the May 26 meeting, according to Anderson.
Anderson said previously that the 35-40 minute meeting allowed him “to share our vision of JaxPort.”
Anderson said LaHood asked about Mile Point to start the meeting and he also had the opportunity to describe the port’s public-private partnerships.
“This led into my brief overview of our prospective Tiger III application,” he said.
Anderson apologized for not being in Jacksonville for LaHood’s trip, but the visit fell on the same day Anderson was with family in California celebrating his father’s 80th birthday.
LaHood expects to see another large group of applications for the third round of grants, but this time he has firsthand knowledge of Jacksonville.
“We will have enormous numbers of people applying for these funds, but this time I’m able to say that I am here, I’ve been able to see the work that is going on, I’ve seen the economic activity,” said LaHood, who will travel to Little Rock to look at proposed highway projects.
LaHood’s trip included a meeting with Mayor Alvin Brown and a briefing from port COO Chris Kauffmann and TraPac Vice President and General Manager Dennis Kelly on the funding needs of the port as it plans for growth.
The port has stated that one of the hurdles is the permitting process through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The port is waiting on decisions from the Army Corps on the Mile Point and dredging projects.
Port representatives have been talking with legislators to find a way to expedite the process, and LaHood supports the idea.
“One of the asks has been that we work closely with the Corps of Engineers to let them know that this a very important economic development project for this port. We know that the dredging needs to take place. It will only create more capacity and more opportunity for more jobs,” said LaHood.
“I will be speaking with the director of the Corps of Engineers to let him know that I was here, that this dredging is very important, that more capacity is very important, and that it really fits into what President Obama has been talking about, creating activity to create jobs,” he said.
“We can do it with some money, but we can also do it by speeding up the process, so these folks can continue the good work they are doing here,” said LaHood.
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