Posted on April 5, 2018
By Lawrence Specker, AL.com
The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a $12.7 million grant that will help add a new feature to the Alabama State Docks in Mobile: A vehicle-friendly loading site that could serve the state’s growing automotive industry.
According to information released Tuesday by the DOT, the project being funded by the grant “converts an abandoned bulk handling facility at the Port of Mobile into a roll-on/roll-off mobile vehicle processing facility.” It will be able to handle automobiles, military vehicles, trucks, and other rolling stock that can be driven or towed directly onto ships.
The feature could be beneficial to Alabama’s growing auto manufacturing sector. In January, when Toyota and Mazda announced that they’d selected the Huntsville area for a new auto manufacturing plant, the Port Authority’s chief said that while it was “really a little early to tell,” the plant could have an impact on port traffic.
Jimmy Lyons, director and CEO of the Port Authority, speculated that if Toyota and Mazda vehicles made in Huntsville are exported, they might be shipped out of Mobile.
While it’s unknown whether the companies intend to do so, the port will be equipped to meet the demand if they do so.
Alabama senators Richard Shelby and Doug Jones were quick to praise the grant announcement. Shelby released a statement saying that the grant would “facilitate the demands of Alabama’s booming automotive industry.”
Via Twitter, Jones described it as a “huge win” for the port and said the new facility will “serve as an engine of economic opportunity for the Mobile region.”
The statement released by Shelby also included comment from Lyons.
“This project will add needed capability to this region of the Gulf of Mexico and greatly enhance the Alabama State Port Authority’s ability to serve the automotive and equipment industries,” Lyons said. “Including other funds secured by the Port as well as the cost of the land, the total project is valued at approximately $60 million, representing a great value for taxpayers.”
TIGER stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery. Another multimillion dollar TIGER grant is funding improvements to Mobile’s Broad Street corridor.
Source: AL.com
