Local riverports get shares of $1.5M additional state funding

A third round of infrastructure funding for five Western Kentucky riverports was announced on Wednesday. 

Almost $1.5 million has been designated to the facilities to spur growth and increase their economic potential. The grant program is administered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and was approved by the General Assembly during the 2024 legislative session.

In the Jackson Purchase, the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority and the Hickman-Fulton County Riverport Authority are receiving over $300,000 for upgrades to material loading equipment. 

In the Pennyrile, $515,075 is allocated for the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority as they embark on a project to increase barge storage from twelve to eighteen. The Henderson County Riverport Authority will spend funds totaling $208,890 on a new piece of material handling equipment to boost efficiency. $381,743 will go toward widening and repaving an access road trucks use to get into and out of warehouses at the Owensboro Riverport Authority facility.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said, "The investments we make today will continue to serve Kentuckians for years to come."

The latest funding brings the total spent through the grant program to nearly $8 million during this fiscal year.

Photo courtesy of the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority