Posted on October 29, 2025
From deeper channels to modernized terminals, ports nationwide are investing in infrastructure that keeps cargo moving and supply chains competitive.
U.S. supply chains depend on the nation’s seaports, and the pressures on those ports continue to intensify. To keep cargo moving and remain competitive, ports are investing now in infrastructure upgrades designed to meet the demands of tomorrow.
From projects that can handle ever-larger ships to improvements that speed drayage and upgrade operations, ports across the country are making strategic bets on the future. The goal: stronger supply chains that position U.S. ports to drive economic growth and enable shippers to compete on a global stage.
Here’s a look at 11 ports and the infrastructure projects they’re undertaking.
Don Young Port of Alaska:
Going Big On Modernization
The Port of Alaska’s Petroleum and Cement Terminal was completed in 2022. The next new terminal—an $800-million project—is forthcoming and will accommodate larger vessels.
The ongoing Port of Alaska Modernization Program comprises the replacement of each of the port’s four terminals. The program was launched in response to outdated conditions at the port’s marine facilities, including corrosion and reduced load-bearing capacity. When complete, these modernized ports will accommodate new, larger vessels and adhere to the latest seismic design standards.
The work so far includes the 2022 completion of the Petroleum and Cement Terminal, but three terminal projects remain. The port has imposed operational restrictions on its original terminals—and more limits could be coming.
The municipality of Anchorage recently awarded an $800-million contract for the construction of the next new terminal.
“This is probably the biggest infrastructure project that the state of Alaska has seen since the Trans-Alaska pipeline,” Port Director Steve Ribuffo told KTTU News. “It is that size in significance not only because of the cost, but because of the magnitude of change in one place that’s going to happen over a decade.”
Port of Charleston:
Expanding to Remain Competitive
To stay competitive as a top 10 U.S. container port, Port of Charleston is expanding its rail facilities and extending the terminal’s wharf to create space for more ship-to-shore cranes.
The Port of Charleston’s planned Leatherman Rail Facility, which is scheduled to open in early 2026, will feature six electric rail-mounted gantry cranes and capability to handle 1 million rail lifts per year. As part of the project, the port—which is part of SC Ports Authority—is building a one-mile dedicated drayage road that will segregate intermodal traffic from nearby Interstate 26.
In addition, phase two of an expansion of the port’s Leatherman Terminal is underway. The project includes extending the terminal’s wharf another 1,600 feet to create space for an additional five ship-to-shore cranes.
“The investments SC Ports makes, with backing from our state leaders, keep our port system ready to meet projected demand,” SC Ports President and CEO Barbara Melvin said in a press release. “The continued growth of our inland rail facilities, and our commitment to enhancing efficiency for our customers necessitated this critical infrastructure expansion, and will keep SC Ports competitive as a top 10 U.S. container port for decades to come.”
Port of Corpus Christi:
Supporting Innovation
In June, the Port of Corpus Christi celebrated the completion of a project that increased the depth of the port’s shipping channel from 47 feet to 54 feet and its width from 400 feet to 530 feet with additional barge shelves. The $625-million project began in 2017 and will allow the port to accommodate the widespread demand for larger vessels. It also makes it the deepest draft port in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I think this deeper depth will open up a whole new era of innovation and commercialization of this ship channel,” said Kent Britton, CEO of Port of Corpus Christi, in local news reports. “We’ll be able to receive deeper ships than we would have been able to previously, and so we’ll be looking at larger crude carriers as well as potentially container ships.”
The Port of Corpus Christi is the largest crude oil export gateway in the U.S. and the third-largest in the world, and it also is the second-largest U.S. gateway for liquefied natural gas exports. The port estimates annual transportation cost savings of $200 million from the project. According to the port, the enhanced navigational infrastructure project and the port’s proximity to two major production fields—Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin—has attracted more than $65 billion in commercial investments to the Texas Coastal Bend region in the past decade.
Port Everglades:
Welcoming Larger Ships
Port Everglades is another port pursuing a project to deepen and widen its navigational channels to meet the requirements of larger ships.
The project will upgrade the port’s outer entrance channel from 45 feet deep and 500 feet wide to 55 feet deep and 800 feet wide for a flared channel that extends 2,200 feet seaward. In addition, the inner entrance channel and main turning basins will be deepened from 42 feet to 48 feet.
According to the port, the project can be traced all the way back to a feasibility study completed in 1996. The project was authorized for construction in 2016 and received an increased funding authorization in 2022, but it remains in the environmental review process.
Port of Houston:
Improving Efficiency
At the Port of Houston, dredging began in 2022 on its ship channel expansion, which is called Project 11 and will widen the channel from 530 feet to 700 feet and deepen some upstream segments of the channel to 46.5 feet. The work is expected to be finished in 2029.
The Port of Houston has more deep-draft ship visits than any other port in the country, and nearly 200,000 barge transits every year. The port also is No. 1 in the country for waterborne tonnage.
According to the port, several portions of the channel expansion project are complete and already providing benefits: For instance, daylight restrictions have been reduced by up to two hours in each direction, increasing time for two-way vessel traffic along the waterway and improving efficiency.
Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles:
Building for the Future
Efforts at the Port of Long Beach include a project to double its existing rail yard to 171 acres, more than tripling the volume of on-dock rail cargo that the port can handle annually.
A $365-million terminal expansion project is underway at the Port of Long Beach to create more stacking space and maximize efficiency. The project is slated for completion in late 2028.
International Transportation Service, operator of the port’s Pier G terminal, will also build a single 3,400-foot wharf capable of hosting two of the largest cargo ships at once.
“This project strengthens America’s supply chain by investing the right way in infrastructure—using local labor and U.S.-made materials,” said ITS Long Beach CEO Kim Holtermand in a press release. “We’re not just preparing for the future—we’re building it here, at home.”
In addition, a major rail expansion at Pier B will grow the yard from 82 to 171 acres, triple on-dock rail cargo volume, and include a depot servicing up to 30 locomotives simultaneously. Construction began in 2024 and is expected to finish in 2032, connecting directly to on-dock rail and the Alameda Corridor railway.
Of note for drayage trucking, Harbor Scenic Drive improvements will enhance roadways between the 710 Freeway and port terminals, including pavement upgrades, widened ramps, turning pockets, advanced traffic management technologies, and safety enhancements. Work is expected to complete on time for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
At the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, plans are underway for a new container terminal to accommodate the world’s largest cargo ships. The project will expand berthing capacity and modernize handling infrastructure to improve operational efficiency and throughput. By investing in deeper channels, larger cranes, and advanced container management systems, the port aims to support growing international trade and ensure smooth operations for both carriers and drayage partners.
“For the first time in a generation, the Port of Los Angeles plans to build a new container terminal to meet global supply chain demand for decades into the future,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka in a release. Construction is expected to start soon, with completion aligned to meet projected cargo growth over the next decade.
Port of New York and New Jersey:
Strengthening Regional Freight Movement
As part of its focus on sustainability in drayage, the Port of New York and New Jersey opened a new electric charging station at the Port Newark terminal.
Among the most important infrastructure projects through the Port of New York and New Jersey is the Port Street Corridor Improvement, which is designed to modernize a key roadway access point to Port Newark and the Elizabeth Port Authority Marine Terminal in New Jersey.
The project, which is slated for completion in May 2028, prioritizes drayage benefits. Improvements will include a safer entrance to the port complex, a more efficient configuration of the port’s roadway network and strengthened regional freight movement by connecting multimodal food transport to rural areas and local communities.
The Port of New York and New Jersey also recently opened a new electric charging station at the Port Newark terminal as part of its efforts to advance zero-emission drayage trucking operations. The charging station includes four direct current fast chargers at the port’s truck welcome center. The port’s most recent air emissions inventory found that drayage truck operations represent about 48% of port-wide greenhouse gas emissions.
Port of Oakland:
Easing Transit Restrictions
The Port of Oakland is another facility making changes in order to accommodate larger ships. The Turning Basins Widening Project will widen both the inner and outer harbor turning basins in the Oakland Seaport to make it easier for large ships to turn around. Currently, larger ships visiting the port face transit restrictions that lead to delays.
“We’re moving forward on a long-standing project that will preserve the port’s economic competitiveness and allow the port to continue delivering benefits to the local region and nation,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Kristi McKenney in a press release.
The project’s design phase is expected to start later this year, with construction anticipated to begin in mid-2027.
Port of Savannah:
Increasing Berth Capacity
Berth and container yard renovations at The Port of Savannah will enable the terminal to reach an annual capacity of 2 million TEUs.
The Georgia Ports Authority is transforming the 200-acre Ocean Terminal at the Port of Savannah into a container-only facility. Berth and container yard renovations will enable the terminal to serve two large container ships simultaneously and reach an annual capacity of 2 million TEUs. The docks will be served by eight new ship-to-shore cranes. Wharf renovations are underway with completion of the entire terminal redevelopment expected in 2026.
In addition, the planned Savannah Container Terminal on Hutchison Island is now in the permitting phase and will create three new big ship berths when completed. These ship berth improvements combined with the recent Garden City Terminal berth project (which opened in 2023) will deliver a total of 12 big ship berths, representing a 100% increase in big ship berth capacity over the next six years, according to the GPA.
As part of the Ocean Terminal project, the GPA is building a new $29-million exit ramp for truckers to provide them with direct access to the highway—no traffic lights from the terminal in Savannah until they reach Atlanta. The new ramp will also help keep the trucks off local roads.
Port of Virginia:
Keeping Cargo Flowing
At the Port of Virginia, work is nearly complete on a project that will give the port’s harbor the deepest, widest channel on the U.S. East Coast. The Port also recently completed an $83-million expansion of Norfolk International Terminals’ central railyard to increase capacity.
Work is nearly complete on a project that will give the Port of Virginia’s harbor the deepest, widest channel on the U.S. East Coast, allowing safe, two-way traffic for fully laden, ultra-large container ships. The port completed the widening portion of the project in February 2024, and it is expected to finish the deepening portion this fall. The port’s harbor will reach 55 feet depth.
“It’s a big step forward in efficiency,” port spokesperson Joe Harris told Virginia Business this summer. “A deeper and wider channel keeps the flow of cargo coming into and out of the port and reduces downtime.”
In August 2024, the port also completed an $83-million expansion of Norfolk International Terminals’ central railyard to accommodate 1.1 million rail TEUs annually. “It doubled the rail footprint at NIT,” Harris noted. “We can now handle, portwide, 2 million rail lifts per year.”
In addition, the port is nearing the finish of the first phase of a $650-million expansion of Norfolk International Terminals’ north terminal, creating an additional 1.4 million TEUs of capacity with the installation of four new electric ship-to-shore cranes.
The terminals’ container stack yard will be reconfigured, too. Upon completion in summer 2027, the terminals will have a capacity of 3.6 million TEUs, bringing the port’s overall capacity to 5.8 million TEUs.
