Wisconsin Port Secures $900,000 Grant

The CN-served Port of Manitowoc is a deep draft commercial harbor located on the west coast of Lake Michigan, about 80 miles north of Milwaukee and 50 miles south of Sturgeon Bay. (Photograph Courtesy of Port of Manitowoc)

The Port of Manitowoc will use a $900,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to help construct new rail platform extensions that will support the manufacturing, assembly and shipping of cranes for the U.S. Navy.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and WisDOT on Aug. 25 announced the Harbor Assistance Program grant. The extensions will enable Konecranes and Broadwind Heavy Fabrications to increase crane manufacturing for the U.S. Navy at the CN-served Port of Manitowoc, which will “expedite repairs to the submarine fleet,” WisDOT said. “Once manufactured, the cranes must be tested and shipped—fully assembled—to naval ports on the east and west coasts and to Hawaii.”

The Port of Manitowoc is a deep draft commercial harbor located on the west coast of Lake Michigan—about 80 miles north of Milwaukee and 50 miles south of Sturgeon Bay—and offers access to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. It is home to terminal operators Trans-Link Services and St. Marys Cement as well as businesses such as Broadwind Energy, Burger Boat, Konecranes, McMullen & Pitz, and the Manitowoc Marina.

“This Harbor Assistance Program award helps grow industry and create jobs in Wisconsin,” WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson said. “Through our great partnerships with the city of Manitowoc and local businesses, we continue to work together to streamline and revitalize Manitowoc’s crane building tradition.”