*Article originally appeared on KAIT8, 10 December 2018*
NEWPORT, AR (KAIT) -A new grant will help continue the construction of a port facility project that began back in 2017.
According to a Facebook post by the Newport Economic Development Commission, the White River Regional Port Authority received a new $141,720 grant to begin Phase II to continue the development of the access into the port site.
Phase II will cover construction of the access road which will start in the spring of 2019 and will be finished by the summer.
According to the post, the port authority is currently working with a company to re-establish shipping on the river by the fall.
The grant funding comes from fees collected from the waterborne transportation companies that are active on Arkansas rivers.
According to the post, those funds are then allocated to assist with the development of the state’s navigable waterways.