The U.S. Department of Transportation bestowed an $80 million grant to increase supply chain resilience by providing real-time tracking of goods and services as they move through the new Smart Port at AllianceTexas.

The details

According to a news release, the AllianceTexas Smart Port was one of 44 projects chosen nationwide and the lone selection from Texas. A total of $4.2 billion in funding was allocated in this round from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program, which is where the funds for the Smart Port comes from.

The Smart Port is a $262 million public-private partnership between the following entities:
  • Texas Department of Transportation
  • City of Fort Worth
  • City of Haslet
  • North Central Texas Council of Governments
  • Hillwood
The news release states the project includes $96 million of private sector investments and connects the AllianceTexas Inland Port to the Dallas-Fort Worth regional, state and national transportation networks, which include the Texas Connected Freight Corridor, Interstate 35 and Interstate 45.

Diving in deeper


The news release states components of the Smart Port project include:
  • Adding an SH 170/Intermodal Parkway smart connected bridge to aid in vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and autonomous vehicle deployment
  • Creating a 32-acre container lot with serviceability between BNSF Railway's Intermodal hub and over 14 million square feet of future warehouse space
  • Ensuring long-term 5G communication network capacity and boosting public/private 5G network growth
  • Establishing a regionally connected freight corridor node with EV/hydrogen charging units for short- and long-haul operations
  • Ensuring a strategically placed energy storage and management system to help mitigate demand spikes and improve resiliency against unforeseen energy impacts
  • Instituting a seamless platform for elevating inland port physical/technological connectivity in the 865-mile Texas Triangle, linking the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin-San Antonio and Houston areas
The news release states the AllianceTexas Inland Port is the primary port of entry for the southwestern United States, bringing shipped global goods directly from the ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Houston via intermodal rail containers.

The Smart Port project will support AllianceTexas’ future intermodal growth through new intermodal services to Mexico and improved supply chain resilience utilizing enhanced freight logistics, optimized freeway lane connections and integration of technologies.

What they’re saying

“AllianceTexas is poised to redefine what it means to be a modern logistics hub," said Ross Perot Jr., Chairman of The Perot Group and Hillwood. "By integrating automation and forward-looking technologies through this grant, we will not only strengthen the national supply chain but also set a global benchmark for resilience and efficiency in port operations."


"[This] award is a groundbreaking achievement made possible by the collaboration of leaders across the public and private sectors,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said. “By leveraging technology to improve supply chain resilience, this project allows Dallas-Fort Worth to serve as a transformative model for the efficient movement of goods to market.”