California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the millions of dollars in grant money for state ports will help reduce pollution and create a more dynamic freight distribution network.

The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland have been awarded grants totaling $735 million by the state of California to help fund infrastructure and emissions-reduction projects designed to promote efficient and sustainable freight movement. 

The funds will come from the California State Transportation Agency’s overall $1.5 billion Port and Freight Infrastructure Program for harbor-related road, rail and maritime support facilities. The program includes $450 million for zero-emission cargo-handling operations. 

“No other state has a supply chain as critical to the national and global economy as California,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in statement announcing the grants last week. “These investments...will modernize our ports, reduce pollution, eliminate bottlenecks and create a more dynamic distribution network.”  

Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland are three of the top nine container ports in the United States, according to PIERS.

The Port of Long Beach will receive $383.35 million for infrastructure and clean-air projects. Those efforts include about $225 million for zero-emission cargo-handling equipment, tugboats and locomotives, which the port said in a statement is the single-largest grant Long Beach has ever received to support the zero-emission goals of its 2017 Clean Air Action Plan update. Long Beach will use the other $158.4 million to construct its Pier B on-dock rail yard, where containers will be delivered to and from marine terminals by rail. The Pier B rail facility will be built in phases from 2024 to 2032. 

The Port of Los Angeles has been awarded grants totaling $233 million to upgrade roadways and maritime support facilities. The existing maritime support facility, which will be expanded from 30 acres to 71 acres, provides storage for chassis and empty containers. Los Angeles will also use the grant money for construction of several roadway and grade separation projects in the harbor area. 

The Port of Oakland was awarded grants totaling $119 million for its Outer Harbor redevelopment project and conversion of diesel-powered cargo-handling equipment to zero emissions. It will also use the funds for wharf upgrades, improvements to roadways to enhance truck flow and reduce emissions, and to upgrade Berths 32-33 to improve operational flexibility.