Port of Harlingen receives $700K grant to prepare for future challenges

The Port of Harlingen has received more than $700,000 in federal monies to proactively respond to future events, including enhancing resilience against weather and climate extremes.

In a news release, the Port of Harlingen Authority said the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded it $708,750 in Port Infrastructure Development Grant dollars on Nov. 14 for its Resiliency and Asset Management Planning Project.

“The project will allow for a sevenfold approach for the Port’s ability to proactively respond to future events by addressing maintenance and repair challenges, developing strategies to enhance resilience against climate and weather extremes, as well as exploring opportunities and contingencies for global supply chain issues,” the news release stated.

The project includes infrastructure assessment, the creation of a GIS database, market and trade analysis, an update to the Port’s Master Plan, the development of a capital improvement plan, an environmental analysis and community involvement, and for grant management and administration.

Port Commission Chair Alan Johnson said in a statement that the project opens up the door to more than just maximizing infrastructure and risk management.

“It allows us to make more sustainable and cost-efficient decisions that in turn allow for funding to be utilized toward optimizing growth planning and development,” Johnson said. “Not only making our systems and facilities better, but also to accommodate for economic growth and commodity diversification as our region continues to expand, as well.”

The program is discretionary and administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration. The funds are awarded on a competitive basis to projects aimed at improving the safety, efficiency or reliability of the movement of goods.

The grant will fund 75% of the port’s project with a 25% match. Additional costs incurred will be paid by the Port of Harlingen. The project’s total cost is $945,500.

This is the second time the Port of Harlingen has landed the grant. In 2022, it received $3.9 million for dock rehabilitation.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, who supported the application, said the funding would not only bring economic growth to the Port, but to the region.

“We are proud to support the Port of Harlingen in securing this … grant,” Gonzalez said in the release. “This grant will support the Port’s efforts to expand—strengthening South Texas’s local economy and the port’s capacity to support vital commerce for years to come.”

Port Director Walker Smith said that through planning and asset management, it will see cost-savings down the road while enhancing its ability and foresight in grant planning.

“It is a shift away from reacting to failed, or near failed, assets to a more preventative approach for critical infrastructure that not only the Port relies on, but our region to move goods,” Walker said.

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