Marine highway route federally designated for Port of Hueneme

At the Port of Hueneme, the SEA LINC Project designed to move cargo off federal and state highways by shifting it to barge transport along Marine Highway 5 (M-5) has been awarded official designation by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

SEA LINC, which stands for Spurring Economic Advantages with Logical Investments for New Connectivity, is the first project so designated in Southern California since the American Marine Highways Program’s 2007 inception. The federal designation allows participants to apply for federal grants to support new services as part of the project to move currently trucked cargo from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California on barges instead.

“This project opens up a pathway for new services to expand productivity and efficiency on the West Coast, reduces costs for beneficial cargo owners, eliminates more than 23,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and saves more than $1 million in public safety and infrastructure maintenance annually,” notes Kristin Decas, the port’s CEO and director.

SEA LINC includes expansion options for future potential stops along the M-5 that include the ports of San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Francisco and Coos Bay.

To learn more about the American Marine Highways program, click here.

Image from Port of Hueneme