AASHTO Journal, 28 August 2015
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration approved $5.6 million in grants for three projects to help pay for infrastructure improvements including roadways to support industrial activity in California and Arizona.
The largest award, for $2.5 million will go to rehabilitate a major road serving the industrial district of American Canyon, Calif.
Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said the EDA project “will provide critical access and transit to and from the region’s industrial area, which will enable job growth and increased competitiveness” for area businesses.
The EDA approved a $1.5 million grant for the Oxnard Harbor District in Port Hueneme, Calif., to make wharf and berth improvements to that shipping hub. “According to grantee estimates, this project will create 127 jobs and save more than 3,000 existing jobs,” the EDA said.
That work will allow port access by larger-capacity vessels whose cargoes include automobiles, tractors and heavy machinery.
A $1.6 million grant for Chino Valley, Ariz., will help fund new and improved roadways to and from an industrial part, plus construction of sewer and water mains.
That industrial park will serve Chino Valley and two smaller communities, but the EDA said that according to the grantee its current “inadequate infrastructure threatens the continued presence of existing businesses that are unable to expand and has created difficulties in recruiting new potential employers to relocate to the region.”