City of Dubuque to receive $5 million to renovate port infrastructure
The City of Dubuque is receiving $5 million to make rail and fertilizer storage improvements in the Port of Dubuque.
The U.S. Department of Transportation recently approved the grant, which will see the renovation of an existing fertilizer storage shed at Gavilon Grain LLC, 505 E 7th Street, in Dove Harbor. Officials also will use the funds to replace and upgrade approximately 7,300 feet of inoperable rail and relocate another 2,800 feet of rail to improve the loading and unloading of fertilizer and other bulk products.
The grant also will pay for new rail equipment, including a main line switch, a loadout system and shed and a rail-to-barge direct transfer system.
City of Dubuque Director of Strategic Partnerships Teri Goodmann said this is the third time the city has applied for federal money to fund the project.
“We’ve been seeking this because one of our business partners (Gavilon) had expanded the land that they lease on the riverfront and wanted to expand an old rail spur to be more efficient when they’re moving products from tractor-trailer to barge,” she said.
Gavilon leases the land from the city. It provides storage, handling, transportation, marketing and distribution of feed, food and fuel to customers and suppliers.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure the land they lease serves them,” Goodmann said. “These are global, intermodal connectors — the river, the rails and the roads. It’s essential to ag producers and the people who work at Gavilon.”
Goodmann said the city’s application was for $6.8 million, the total cost of the project. But the DOT offered $5 million. In order to secure the grant, Gavilon committed to paying the remaining $1.8 million, Goodmann said.
Gavilon was closed by the time the grant approval was announced Friday and officials could not be reached for comment.
Rick Dickinson, president and CEO of Greater Dubuque Development Corp., lauded the project as a boon for one of Dubuque’s heritage industries.
“Dubuque now has one of the most beautiful riverfronts in the country, but we also have a great deal of commercial use of the river,” he said. “Our ports, both in Dubuque and East Dubuque (Ill.), are major centers for commerce. Rail service and good road transportation is critical for both.”
The infrastructure upgrades will benefit other services, including bringing in road salt for use on streets each winter. The project was identified as a need in a study released in 2018 by the East Central Intergovernmental Association.
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, announced the grant in a press release Friday afternoon. She serves on the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation, which oversees funding of the DOT, and advocated for the project on the city’s behalf.
“The historic Port of Dubuque is critical to our agriculture export and tourism economy along the Mississippi River, and this infrastructure investment will ensure the port can continue to grow and thrive,” she said in a release.