United States Marine Highway Program
Network of navigable waterways in the United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The United States Marine Highway Program is a United States Department of Transportation (DOT) initiative authorized to increase use of the United States' 29,000 mi (47,000 km) of navigable waterways to alleviate traffic and wear to the nation's highways caused by tractor trailer traffic.[1][2] The program is managed by the Maritime Administration's Office of Ports & Waterways Planning.
In 2007 Congress included provisions to Public Law 110-140, to "Offer a waterborne alternative to available land-side transportation services using documented Vessels" and "Provide transportation services for passengers or freight (or both) that may reduce congestion on land-side infrastructure using documented vessels."[3] As the United States' population grows, its need to transport freight within its borders also grows. This increases the need for fossil fuels and damages the nation's highways. It is estimated that in 2008, 3.7 billion hours were lost and 2.3 billion US gallons (8.7×109 L) of fuel were spent in traffic jams by Americans.[4] Alongside grassroots efforts to reduce this congestion and greenhouse gas, such as the idea of "buying local", the federal government is looking to its navigable waterways to help alleviate the problem.[1]
The Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Act of 2012 Public Law 112-213added 'public benefits' as one of the program's mandates. In 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 Public Law 114-92 amended the program yet again by adding freight that is "shipped in discrete units or packages that are handled individually, palletized, or unitized for purposes of transportation." The National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 Public Law 116-92 changed the program name from the Short Sea Transportation Program to the Marine Highway Transportation Program. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2023, Public Law 117-263, made the most dramatic change to the program by adding, "bulk, liquid, or loose cargo loaded in tanks, holds, hoppers, or on deck" as well as adding marine highway services that operate between a port on the United States Marine Highway to and from Canada and Mexico. The law eliminated the need to be a "Designated Project" to be eligible for Marine Highway Grant funding. The law also changed the name of the program from the America's Marine Highway Program to the United States Marine Highway Program.
Research has shown[5] that transporting by barge or ship is the most fuel-efficient method of transporting goods (per Ton-Mile), being over eight times more efficient than tractor-trailers and double what is achievable by rail.[4] It also does not face the transportation limits truckers face in "hours driving". A driver is only allowed to be on the road 11 hours out of 21; this drops their average speed effectively in half when transiting more than 600 mi (970 km). A teamster's daily range is also dependent on highway traffic congestion and bottlenecks (such as weigh-stations and toll booths) whereby their daily range could be even less.[6]