U.S. Maritime Administrator David Matsuda appeared with state and local officials last Friday as work began in earnest on Honolulu Harbor's Pier 29 Container Yard reconstruction project. The Pier 29 cargo yard was rendered unusable in 2008. Thanks to a $25 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act TIGER grant, the new pier will increase harbor efficiency and safety by improving 12 acres of existing port yard area to support cargo operations that are vital to Hawaii's water-dependent economy, he said. It is due to reopen in December 2011.

"Preserving and creating jobs is what the recovery act is all about," Matsuda said. "We're bolstering the construction industry through significant investments in the nation's transportation infrastructure. Hawaii's Pier 29 reconstruction project represents just such a critical project."

Construction will include new pavement, drainage, water, lighting, sewer, fire protection, and electrical systems. Ultimately, Pier 29 will shift truck traffic away from highly congested areas to further improve freight efficiencies and air quality.

Tri-City Port District Uses TIGER Funds to Improve Rail Access

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood appeared Monday in Granite City, Illinois, where the Tri-City Port District broke ground on the new South Loop, a 9,600-foot rail extension that will allow trains access to the Port District's South Harbor. Granite City is located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

The project, which received a $6 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, includes drilling new levee relief walls that are part of an improved drainage system at the port.

"We've got three cities working together as a unified district. We're creating jobs laying rail track and building levee relief walls under the same funding," LaHood wrote on his blog Tuesday. "This is what TIGER was meant to do."