Port of Oswego gets $4 million for cargo-handling and rail upgrades

The Port of Oswego, located on Lake Ontario along the New York shoreline, has received a $4 million federal grant to acquire new cargo handling equipment and improve rail infrastructure.

Funding from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) will enable the port to increase export capacity, which will in turn benefit local businesses seeking access to global export markets.

Commodities handled at the port include aluminum, steel, agricultural products, salt, windmill and nuclear power components, cement, and petroleum products, according to the port’s website. CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) serves the port, which also has access to Interstates 81 and 90 via State Route 481.

The Port of Oswego will use the funding to procure a radial telescopic shiploader conveyor. Funding will also go toward upgrading the port’s railroad tracks. About $1 million in local funds is matching the federal grant.

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is improving our infrastructure and strengthening American supply chain resilience,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a Tuesday release. “This EDA investment will increase export capacity at the Port of Oswego to create new economic opportunity in the region.”

The federal funding announced this week follows a September 2022 announcement in which the Port of Oswego Authority said it would be working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the port’s harbor. The Army Corps allotted $300,000 toward a joint feasibility study. New York state awarded an additional $300,000 toward the project, according to local news reports.

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