JAXPORT Wins $40 Million Federal Grant to Rebuild About 900 Feet of Berth 32 at Blount Island

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - JAXPORT received a $40 million federal grant last week to rebuild approximately 900 feet of Berth 32 at Blount Island Marine Terminal, according to an Oct. 29 announcement from JAXPORT. The funding comes through the U.S. Maritime Administration's Port Infrastructure Development Program and will support reconstruction, increased load-bearing capacity and improvements to infrastructure used in cargo operations. The Jacksonville award is part of a nationwide funding round totaling $498 million for 35 port projects across 19 states.

The $40 million award represents approximately 8% of the nationwide funding total, based on figures released by JAXPORT. It targets one section of Blount Island, a marine terminal with more than 7,000 linear feet of deepwater berths. The port authority said the improvements will strengthen its cargo connections to the Southeast United States and Puerto Rico.

What JAXPORT received in the federal funding round

According to JAXPORT's Oct. 29 announcement, the $40 million grant was awarded by the U.S. Maritime Administration, commonly called MARAD, through its Port Infrastructure Development Program, or PIDP. The program's latest round distributes $498 million among 35 projects in 19 states. Jacksonville's project focuses specifically on Berth 32 at the Blount Island Marine Terminal.

The award was also identified in national coverage of the grant announcements. The Maritime Executive reported Oct. 27 that Jacksonville was receiving $40 million to reconstruct a berth at Blount Island. Baird Maritime included the Jacksonville award in its Oct. 28 coverage of the federal funding distribution.

JAXPORT's share amounts to roughly 8 cents of every dollar awarded in the $498 million round. That calculation compares the Jacksonville grant with the total national funding amount, not the overall construction cost of the Berth 32 project. The port authority's announcement did not provide a total project budget or identify a specific local contribution.

What the $40 million will build at Berth 32

JAXPORT said the project will rebuild about 900 feet of berth infrastructure at Blount Island. The reconstruction will increase the berth's load-bearing capacity and upgrade infrastructure supporting cargo operations. Those are the three principal elements of the work identified in the authority's Oct. 29 announcement.

The proposed reconstruction represents approximately 12.7% of the terminal's total published berth length. That percentage compares the roughly 900 feet identified for reconstruction with the 7,094 linear feet of deepwater berths listed on JAXPORT's Blount Island facility page. It is an approximate comparison because the announcement describes the project length as "about 900 feet."

The announcement identifies the berth and the infrastructure improvements but does not establish the precise condition of Berth 32 before reconstruction. It also does not provide the berth's exact current length. The confirmed scope is therefore the approximately 900 feet of rebuilding and the associated capacity and cargo-support improvements described by JAXPORT.

Blount Island has 7,094 feet of deepwater berths

Blount Island Marine Terminal is one of JAXPORT's cargo facilities, according to the authority's published facility information. The terminal has 7,094 linear feet of deepwater berths, equivalent to approximately 2,163 meters. Its infrastructure includes two dedicated roll-on/roll-off berths and one heavy-lift berth.

JAXPORT also lists 11 container cranes at the terminal, including six super post-Panamax cranes. The facility has a published harbor depth of 47 feet and includes on-terminal rail infrastructure. According to the port authority, Blount Island is located 12.5 nautical miles from the sea buoy.

These specifications provide context for the Berth 32 reconstruction. The $40 million grant addresses one portion of a terminal that already contains multiple types of cargo-handling infrastructure. JAXPORT has not characterized the award as funding a complete reconstruction of Blount Island Marine Terminal.

The combination of container cranes, specialized berths and rail infrastructure is documented on JAXPORT's facility page. The planned increase in Berth 32's load-bearing capacity is a separate improvement identified in the grant announcement. Neither source provides a numerical estimate of how much additional cargo the reconstructed berth could handle.

How the $498 million federal round compares with earlier awards

The latest Port Infrastructure Development Program awards are smaller than several previous rounds, according to The Maritime Executive's Oct. 27 report. The publication described the $498 million distribution as the program's lowest funding level in five years. Its report also listed previous awards that provide comparisons with the current allocation.

Source: The Maritime Executive, Oct. 27, 2026; JAXPORT, Oct. 29, 2026.

The Maritime Executive reported that $450 million of the latest round comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed Nov. 15, 2021. It identified the distribution as the last advance appropriations from that law's $2.25 billion allocation for the port infrastructure program. The publication also reported that the American Association of Port Authorities expects a sharp funding reduction next year without congressional action.

Baird Maritime provided a more detailed funding breakdown in its Oct. 28 report. The publication listed $450 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, $38.6 million in fiscal year 2026 appropriations and $19 million recovered from earlier awards. Those are the funding components reported by Baird Maritime for the latest distribution.

The American Association of Port Authorities also addressed the financial structure of port projects, according to The Maritime Executive. The association said ports typically match federal grants with approximately a 50% non-federal cost share. That general figure does not establish the required contribution or total cost for Jacksonville's specific Berth 32 project.

How Jacksonville's award compares with other ports

Jacksonville's $40 million award was below the largest individual grant reported in the latest round. According to Baird Maritime, Whittier, Alaska, received $50,593,488, the largest single award in the distribution. That amount exceeds Jacksonville's grant by approximately $10.6 million.

Baird Maritime also identified a $30.75 million grant for Port Everglades in Florida. Jacksonville's award is $9.25 million larger than that amount. Both grants were included in the publication's reporting on the federal maritime infrastructure distribution.

The comparison places Jacksonville among the recipients of substantial individual allocations in the latest round, although the verified figures do not establish its exact national ranking. The $498 million nationwide total covers 35 separate port projects, according to JAXPORT. The authority's announcement identifies Berth 32 as Jacksonville's funded project.

What JAXPORT officials said about the investment

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy addressed the national importance of port infrastructure in the JAXPORT announcement. "The strength of our nation's economy is directly tied to the state of our ports," Duffy said in the statement published by the port authority. His remarks accompanied the announcement of the federal infrastructure funding.

JAXPORT CEO Eric Green thanked Duffy, MARAD Administrator Carmel and the North Florida congressional delegation for their support, according to the port authority. Green said the project builds on recent investments and strengthens cargo connections linking Jacksonville with the Southeast United States and Puerto Rico. He also said it would "enhance our role as a U.S. Strategic Seaport."

The Berth 32 award follows other infrastructure and service developments announced by JAXPORT in 2026. On May 6, the authority announced that its third new container crane had begun operations, and on June 1, it reported reaching the halfway point on a new vehicle berth. JAXPORT also announced July 14 that ZIM and MSC had added the port to an Asia container service rotation.

Those developments are separate from the newly announced $40 million award. Green described the project as building on those recent investments. The verified announcements do not establish a combined cost or completion schedule for all of those projects.

Construction timeline and total project cost remain unspecified

JAXPORT's Oct. 29 announcement confirms the federal award and identifies the planned reconstruction, but it does not provide construction start or completion dates. The announcement also does not specify the project's total estimated cost or the amount of any local funding match. Those details remain outside the information established by the published announcement.

The authority has not provided a verified estimate of additional cargo volume or employment associated with the reconstruction in the source material. Its stated project scope is to rebuild approximately 900 feet of Berth 32, increase load-bearing capacity and improve cargo-support infrastructure. The $40 million figure represents the announced federal grant rather than a verified total construction budget.

The original announcement is available through JAXPORT's official website. The port authority's news section also provides its other published infrastructure announcements, while its Blount Island facility page lists the terminal's physical specifications. Those official materials document the federal award, the berth reconstruction scope and the facility where the improvements are planned.