Contact: FHWA.PressOffice@dot.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Sean P. Duffy today announced $175 million in funding under the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Ferry Boat Program (FBP) to 35 states, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The formula funding will improve ferry service and provide more cost-effective travel options for communities across the country that rely on ferries to get to work, promote tourism, and enable commerce. 

“We make life easier when we make the transportation of people and products smoother,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “In places like Alaska, our maritime highways are critical arteries for commuters and regional supply chains. From our skies to our roads, rail networks, and waterways, America is building again thanks to President Trump.”

The funding is eligible to construct and operate ferry boats, ferry terminals, and ferry maintenance facilities for both ferry boats carrying cars and passengers and ferry boats carrying passengers only if service is on a public route on which it is not feasible to build a bridge or tunnel.

The FBP supports a wide variety of states, from Alaska to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of America communities. 

A full breakdown of the funding can be found here.

Additional Information:

FHWA’s Ferry Boat Program improves mobility and helps fill a transportation gap by funding ferry boat projects that provide critical access to areas that lack other means of transport and where high passenger demand already exists. The improvements made possible by this program can increase ridership and help relieve congestion on nearby highways.

The Federal-aid highway formula funds are distributed to ferry operators through State Departments of Transportation for the acquisition of ferry boats, capital improvements to existing ferry boat facilities, operational costs of ferry operators, and, if ferry operator eligibility requirements are met, for designing and constructing new ones along with acquiring right-of-way.

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