Funding a barge terminal's road — and fixing a dangerous intersection — through state DOT programs
A $22M greenfield barge facility needed a two-mile levee-top road into a state highway — at an intersection plagued by accidents. Prosody used two Illinois DOT programs to fund roughly two-thirds of the cost.
At a glance
Gavilon Grain engaged Prosody Consulting on a roughly $22 million greenfield river-barge facility that came with an unusual piece of infrastructure: a nearly two-mile, levee-top road connecting the site to a state highway — at a levee-gate intersection that had been the site of repeated traffic accidents over the years.
Prosody found state programs built for exactly this, brought in the public partner, and structured the funding so that roughly two-thirds of the cost was covered — including full funding for the intersection and rail grading.
The challenge
The road and intersection were essential to the project and a genuine public-safety problem — but funding private-site access through public dollars takes the right program and the right public partner willing to stand behind the application. The work was as much negotiation and structuring as it was paperwork.
What Prosody did
Found the right state programs. Prosody researched funding sources for the infrastructure need and identified two Illinois DOT business-development conduit programs — EDP and TARP — suited to road and highway work.
Brought in the public partner. Prosody negotiated with the local county highway authority to apply for the grant and backstop the project obligation — the structural move that made public funding of the access road possible.
Drafted and coordinated. Prosody drafted the project documents and worked with local and state counsel to document the terms and conditions.
The outcome
The structure delivered 100% funding for the intersection and rail grading and 75% funding for the levee-top road surface — roughly two-thirds of total cost — while turning a recurring safety hazard into a funded fix.
It’s a different shape of win from a federal port grant: state and local programs, a public highway authority as partner, and a road as the asset. The throughline is the same — knowing which program fits and how to structure the partnership behind it.
Why it matters
Capital strategy isn’t only federal, and it isn’t only the marquee asset. Sometimes the project hinges on a road, a rail grade, and a county willing to partner — and the value is knowing the programs and the structures that turn that into funded infrastructure.
That is the standard Prosody brings to every project: find the capital that fits, make the case that holds up, and run it to close.
Prosody Consulting advises clients on federal, state, and local capital strategy and public-private structuring. To discuss your project, request a consultation.