Port of Albany gets $9.9M grant for major upgrades

ALBANY — The Port of Albany was recently awarded a $9.9 million grant from the state Department of Transportation’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program to upgrade its rail and wharf system.

“The Port of Albany is the logistics hub for the Capital Region and the Northeast United States,” Port of Albany CEO Richard Hendrick said. “These rail and maritime infrastructure improvements are key to ensuring regional manufacturers can transport their products to the world through the Port of Albany. It will also ensure heavy cargo and special project cargo can be transported through the facility and is a capstone to recently completed upgrades at the Port of Albany.”

“This Heavy Lift Wharf Deck and Rail Enhancement Project will help attract more and new business to the region,” Albany Port District Commission Chair Georgette Steffens added.

It was one of nearly 40 projects that received a total of $111.1 million for New York’s port and freight rail infrastructure, the largest amount ever awarded under the state’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program. The funding will help modernize freight areas and port facilities, enhance the safety and resiliency of freight corridors and support efforts to combat climate change by facilitating greater use of zero-emission equipment and reducing truck traffic and congestion.

These improvements are the final phase of the Port’s Maritime Infrastructure Investment Project, which includes more than $100 million worth of upgrades and construction completed or under way.

Recently completed projects in the maritime terminal include construction of a 45,000-square-foot warehouse; reconstruction of portions of the wharf; construction of a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and reconstruction of a 60,000square-foot warehouse on the dock, and service road upgrades.

Stevedore service at the port is provided by LOGISTEC, a leading North American marine services provider that has operated at the Port of Albany since 1996.

It operates at 60 ports in the U.S. and Canada.

Will Waldron/times Union archive A petroleum barge on the Hudson River is moored at the Port of Albany on Nov. 16. The Port of Albany is receiving $9.9 million for upgrades for New York state.

Times Union archive The Port of Albany’s grant was one of nearly 40 projects that received a total of $111.1 million for New York’s port and freight rail infrastructure.