GRANITE CITY – The Administrator of U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Paul “Chip” Jaenichen, and Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau visited the recently opened Madison Harbor at America’s Central Port Monday, September 12th.
Both Administrator Jaenichen and Administrator Nadeau participated in the Administrators’ Roundtable on the Freight Economy held by Bi-State Development Agency Monday morning in downtown St. Louis.
Following the roundtable, Administrator Jaenichen, Administrator Nadeau, and several transportation professionals from the St. Louis Region took a tour of various logistics areas including St. Louis River Terminal, Lange-Stegmann, and America’s Central Port.
While at America’s Central Port, Administrator Jaenichen presented Dennis Wilmsmeyer, Executive Director at America’s Central Port, with a plaque to recognize the Port District for their Illinois Intrastate Shuttle Project Designation for the potential future movement of sea containers on river barges.
“The planning and investment in infrastructure by the Port District has been impressive,” said Administrator Jaenichen. “This river facility is like a field of dreams to those of us in the transportation industry. The design of this facility brings together the three major modes of freight transportation at a location that creates lock and ice free transportation, saving operators both time and money, and ultimately creating endless transportation opportunities for the region,” said Jaenichen.
“We are grateful for this award,” stated Wilmsmeyer “The Port District strongly believes in reinvestment in the infrastructure so that we as a region may continue to grow and thrive. ” The designation was in large part due to the work done by the Illinois Soybean Association for grain export to overseas markets in containers. The project designation makes the future containeron-barge opportunities at America’s Central Port eligible for federal funding.
