PORT ARTHUR, Texas — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Southeast Texas Thursday to tour the Port of Port Arthur.
Buttigieg met with local and state leaders to highlight major infrastructure investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The law will help improve the movement of goods and people across the Gulf and the United States, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The investments are intended to create opportunities for generational wealth and a brighter future
"I think there was a sense over the last few years infrastructure itself had been forgotten by Washington because there's a lot of talk, but the funding never quite came through," Buttigieg said. "We're here to change that. We are changing that," he added.
After the tour of the port, Buttigieg held a news conference to highlight the $13.6 million grant that will expand the size and capacity of the port.
"They mean so much to the country because of the economic and strategic role here and the jobs that are created. I'm glad that this funding is going to help not just the the operations of the port but the community of Port Arthur," Buttigieg said.
The investment will convert an abandoned railyard into a modern cargo storage area.
"You're going to see less idling time, which means less emissions," Buttigieg sad.
The conversion should increase local longshore union jobs and expand cargo capacity at the port allowing them to bring in more product and grow the economy.
"Being a recipient of this grant would further enhance the possibility for employment for Port Arthurans," said Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie.
The Port Arthur community is one Buttigieg says he sees himself in.
"Communities in Southeast Texas remind me in their economic profile and in their scale of where I came from in northern Indiana," Buttigieg said. "It's a long way off, but that similar experience of being a community, that has to punch above your weight to succeed."
The project in Texas is among the first major grant recipients from the first year of funding under the five-year infrastructure package, which will promote job growth and improve supply chains, according to the release.
"We've got to thrive with the assistance of the federal government," Bartie said.
Officials with the Port of Port Arthur say they'll need to get permits to convert the courtyard.
They are hoping to make some headway by the end of 2023.
From a U.S. Department of Transportation news release:
On Thursday, February 9th Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will join state and local leaders in Port Arthur, Texas, to highlight major infrastructure investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will help improve the movement of goods and people across the Gulf and the whole country. The project in Texas is among the first major grant recipient from the first year of funding under the five-year infrastructure package, which will create local jobs and improve our supply chains.Secretary Buttigieg will tour the Port of Port Arthur in Port Arthur, Texas, and hold a news conference to highlight a $13.6 million grant to expand the size and capacity of the port and improve the efficiency of freight movement while lowering emissions.