The U.S. Department of Transportation gave its approval to begin reconstruction of the Pier 29 Container Yard in Honolulu Harbor, Oahu after signing a $24.5m TIGER grant agreement with the Hawaii State Department of Transportation Harbors Division, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced . “The Oahu Pier 29 Container Yard reconstruction project is another example of the Obama Administration’s commitment to modernizing our transportation infrastructure and creating economic opportunities for our maritime community,” said Secretary LaHood. 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. The new construction will include new pavement, drainage, water, lighting, sewer, fire protection and electrical systems. Pier 29 will ultimately shift truck traffic away from highly congested areas to further improve freight efficiencies and air quality. The reconstruction project, which is expected to begin in August 2010 and take fifteen months to complete, will provide immediate construction and construction-related jobs for over 300 people.
The $24.5 million grant is from the U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, designed to promote innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that provide significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, region or the nation.