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On Thursday, June 30, Gov. Andy Beshear’s office announced the award of $500,000 in grants to four Kentucky riverports for needed infrastructure improvements and equipment upgrades. One of these four was the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority.

“Our Kentucky riverports play a unique role in our commerce and our transportation system. We’re pleased to be able to provide funding for these worthy projects,” Beshear said in a news release.

The funding must be locally matched, and was awarded for eight separate projects at the four riverports.

Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray approved the awards at the recommendation of the Kentucky Water Transportation Advisory Board, which reviewed the applications, according to the news release.

“The grants will help these riverports meet a range of needs for both operations and capacity,” Gray said in the release.

The Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority has received funding for two projects:

• $105,058 toward purchase of a new winch system to position barges for loading/unloading.

• $110,229 to turn three acres of property into a dry bulk storage yard.

Glen Kinder is a member of the Riverport Board, and explained that each separate project would benefit the city in its own way.

“As it relates to the winch project,” said Kinder, “that’s going to help us with our efficiency of loading the barges with the grain for the farmers, and being able to load more efficiently and send products through the river system. So I think that’s a win for the community, to be able to continue to improve our efficiency, and again, improve that turnaround time for a farmer because they’re not going to be waiting while barges have to be moved.

“We’ll be able to move them in a better manner,” he continued, “because again, it’s going to use some opportunities that we don’t have right now. It’s a new kind of system that’s more current that current winch system that we have.”

Kinder also explained that the new storage yard was an opportunity for growth.

“As far as the laydown yard,” he said, “I mean, that’s really about attracting new partners to the Riverport. That’s not for a specific business at this time, but again an opportunity that we would be able to do bulk storage on the ground in hopes of attracting a new business or a new industry, a new partner to our area.

Eddyville Mayor John Choat called the grant “a step in the right direction.”

“Our Riverport Board is doing an excellent job as far as promoting our industrial park and riverport,” Choat said.

According to the news release, the other Kentucky riverports receiving funding are Hickman-Fulton County Riverport Authority, Owensboro Riverport Authority and the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority.

• $50,000 toward an array of stabilization and safety repairs to three aging mooring cells.

• $31,800 for dredging around port docks.

• $57,490 toward replacement of a crane bucket.

• $36,790 toward purchase of a wheel loader to replace a skid steer.

• $35,912 toward a new and larger grapple for loading steel scrap barges.

• $72,721 toward construction of a steel commodity hopper and gate system.

The funding was appropriated by the 2022 General Assembly, according to the news release.

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