United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP)

Eligible Applicants

• A State
• A political subdivision of a State or a local government;
• A United States metropolitan planning organization;
• A United States port authority;
• A Tribal government (as defined in Section B.5. of this notice);
• Or a United States private sector operator of Marine Highway Projects or private sector owners of facilities, including an Alaska Native Corporation, with an endorsement letter from the current Marine Highway Transportation Route Sponsor (if there are multiple route sponsors, the private sector applicant is only required to submit an endorsement letter from one of the route sponsors).

Eligible Projects

Projects may be either capital projects, development-phase, or Marine Highway Transportation Planning Activities. Eligible project activities include components that 1) provide a coordinated and capable alternative to landside transportation; mitigate or relieve landside congestion; promote Marine Highway Transportation; or use vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121; and 2) develop, expand, or promote Marine Highway Transportation or shipper use of Marine Highway Transportation.

Development phase activities—such as planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, preliminary engineering and design work, development of master plans, and other preconstruction work—may be eligible projects if they satisfy all other eligibility requirements and merit criteria described in this notice. Similarly, projects involving Marine Highway Transportation Planning Activities may be eligible projects if they satisfy all other eligibility requirements and merit criteria described in this notice. However, projects for the development phase or Marine Highway Transportation Planning Activities that do not include any construction activities as defined in Section B.5. will be less competitive than those projects that will result in construction funded by the FY 2026 USMHP.