Trevor Hunnicutt and David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The White House is moving quickly to approve a $17B overhaul of U.S. ports as part of President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Biden will visit Baltimore’s Port of Baltimore Wednesday, to promote funding for U.S. ports that are facing massive backlogs.

White House stated that $17 billion would “improve infrastructure at coastal port, inland port and waterways as well as land ports for entry along the border”.

There are many U.S. ports that have depth or bridge restrictions, which limit their ability to accept larger vessels. Additionally, some U.S. ports face increased cargo volumes that strain land operations.

It aims to:

* To identify projects for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction at coastal ports and inland waterways within the next 60 days. 

* To provide a roadmap for more than $4 billion in funding to repair outdated infrastructure and to deepen harbors for larger cargo ships.

* To prioritize key ports of entry for modernization and expansion within the next 90 days. 

* To identify $3.4 billion in investments to upgrade obsolete inspection facilities and allow more efficient international trade through the northern and southern borders.

Biden Administration aims to relieve congestion at Port of Savannah through funding a Georgia Port Authority Project.

This will enable the state to redeploy more than $8million to transform existing inland facilities to five container yards in North Carolina and Georgia.

Port of Savannah will move containers farther inland to make them more accessible to their final destination. This will allow for greater dock space.