MARINETTE – To make way for a stream of gigantic guided-missile frigates built on the Menominee River, Fincantieri Marinette Marine has received $3 million in a state Department of Transportation grant to dredge the river and improve dockside berths.
After painting a dire picture of what could happen without the WisDOT funds to dredge the river and improve three Menominee River berths needed for its expanding frigate-building program, Fincantieri has scored a state Harbor Assistance Program grant from the state agency to begin necessary repairs and improvements, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation said Jan. 15.
The state DOT’s Harbor Assistance Program is an annual program with the next round of applications due Aug. 1, according to Mike Halsted, harbors and waterways program manager at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
“I work with the applicants to complete the applications,” he said. “They know it’s an 80-20 split. They’re responsible for 20% of the program cost. The funds are to be used for harbor projects along the Great Lakes and its tributaries and the Mississippi River.
WisDOT announced five Harbor Assistance Program grant awards Jan. 15, for a total of about $10 million awarded to harbor maintenance and construction projects in La Crosse, La Pointe, Green Bay and Manitowoc besides Marinette.
“No projects are funded unless they have a positive benefit-cost analysis. It’s a boost for Wisconsin’s economy. The return on investment in this program is very positive,” Halsted said.
Fincantieri is contributing 20% to the $3.7 million harbor improvement project, with state DOT funds contributing 80%. The three-year harbor development project includes restoring 1,000 feet of dockwell, dredging and installing of dockside utilities, bollards and fenders.
About $2.1 million is being allocated for dredging and $1.6 million for dockwell work, according to the application.
Fincantieri’s three-year Statement of Intentions, completed in April 2024 and contained in its Harbor Assistance Program application, said the company needs about $11.2 million in state DOT funds to complete the harbor improvements within a three-year timeframe, but Halsted said Fincantieri requested $3 million when the application was submitted to WisDOT Aug. 1, 2024. Fincantieri also has applied for other grants to cover some utility costs, according to the application.
Fincantieri described the Menominee River harbor improvements as urgently needed. “If the Project is not completed, there may be severe repercussions for the region’s economy,” Fincantieri Marinette Marine Chief Executive Officer Mark Vandroff said in the application.
The Marinette unit of Italy-based Fincantieri S.p.a. has U.S. Navy contracts to build six frigates so far, and it expects to build 10 frigates over the next eight years, according to the application.
Without dredging and dockside repairs at its Menominee River site, Fincantieri Marinette Marine would have to relocate the vessels to a facility outside of Wisconsin, at an expected cost to the company of about $14 million, the application said.
With the WisDOT funds, the company is expected to invest millions of dollars in dockside and dredging improvements and hire over 180 workers either internally or through contracts with area businesses. Last fall, a Fincantieri spokesman said the Marinette shipbuilder planned to hire 100 workers for full-time positions and 400 in 2025 as it prepares to build several new frigates for the U.S. Navy.
The WisDOT grant funds will fuel a three-pronged project including: repairs and renovations to the existing Menominee River dock wall east of the new vertical ship lift structure; waterfront-berth dredging and dockwall reinforcement west of the shiplift; and installation of bollards and fendering systems at the waterfront berths, according to the application.
The improvements, which are part of Fincantieri’s multiphase $100-million-plus site improvement plan, will allow for larger, more complex vessels to be built according to production schedules its government customers dictate, the application said. The shipbuilder is transitioning from production of Littoral Combat Ships to the much larger Constellation-Class Stealth-Guided Frigates, which require modifications to the shipyard and the harbor, experts said.
The harbor improvements also tie into the City of Marinette’s Comprehensive Plan and Marinette County’s 20-Year Comprehensive Plan. In a letter of support for the harbor project, Marinette Mayor Steve Genisot said, “The Constellation-Class program represents a significant economic impact to not only the City of Marinette, but also to the entire northeast Wisconsin region.”
Genisot said the improvements will allow for barge shipments of various components necessary for shipbuilding. “This will enhance the utilization of other shipbuilding facilities in Wisconsin,” he said.
As one indication of the economic benefit it provides, Fincantieri Marinette Marinee paid over $794,527 in property taxes in 2024, according to Marinette County tax records. The total 2024 amount included $480,760 for its 19.7-acre headquarters property, Parcel No. 251-04269.002, at 1600 Ely St. in Marinette, which has an estimated fair market value of $27.8 million, and $308,972 for its main plant at the same address, Parcel No. 251-00933.006, which has an estimated fair market value of $17.9 million, according to property tax bills.
The total also included $4,795 in 2024 property taxes for Bulkhead Line parcel No. 251-00933.001, which had an estimated fair market value of about $281,000, according to a property tax bill.
The property tax amount represents about a six-fold increase in county property taxes since Fincantieri acquired Marinette Marine Corp. in 2009 and invested over $600 million in capital expenditures at the Marinette site near the mouth of the Menominee River and the Bay of Green Bay, according to company documents.
To be completed within three years, Fincantieri provided the following project timeline:
BULLET June 2025: Complete final design.
BULLET June-July 2025: Mobilization.
BULLET July-September 2025: Maintenance dredging.
BULLET June-July 2025: Dockwall inspection and finalization of construction drawings.
BULLET September-November 2025: Dockwall improvements (Berths 1A and 1B).
BULLET November 2025-September 2026: Dockwall improvements (Berths 3 and 4).
BULLET September 2026: Testing and completion.
Besides the state DOT Harbor Assistance Program, which supports commercial waterborne projects, Halsted said he works to connect Wisconsin companies to grant opportunities from the federal government. “Wisconsin’s commitment to get federal dollars are really impressive,” he said.
The state DOT offers a booklet on “WisDOT’s Summary Guide to Federal Discretionary Grants” at https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/doing-bus/bildgsg.pdf
It also provides lists of discretionary federal grant programs. Information can be found online by searching for the terms, “Discretionary Grant Program” and “Wisconsin DOT,” Halsted said.
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