The International Marine Terminal expansion has been recognized by national organizations for its contribution to quality of life and community development in the state.

David Bernhardt, commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, was presented a regional America’s Transportation Award for the project on Tuesday. The awards are a national competition organized by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that recognizes the best transportation projects across the country.

“This award is recognition of the important work being done at the International Marine Terminal in Portland,” Bernhardt said in a news release. “I am proud of our existing partnerships and look forward to future collaboration that will expand their reach into global markets.”

The expansion project, completed in 2015, doubled the size of the shipping-container terminal and linked it directly to rail transportation. The terminal expansion added 12 acres west of the Casco Bay Bridge including 5,000 feet of new railroad track and a concrete loading pad for shipping containers. Expanding Portland’s shipping terminal is expected to reduce the cost of shipping and make Portland internationally competitive.

Through the work of the transportation department and port authority, the terminal “has transformed from an under-performing liability to a transportation and economic asset of international significance,” said Portland Deputy City Manager Anita LaChance in an April letter of support to the award selection committee. “For the first time in generations, the Port of Portland now links to international ports with direct marine/rail/highway connections for containerized freight.”

The investment has allowed the facility to serve Icelandic shipping firm Eimskip , according to LaChance. Eimskip made Portland its North American headquarters in 2013 and hopes to make weekly calls to the city by 2020. The terminal will also help create transportation efficiencies to help foster growth in regional food and beverage manufacturing, LaChance said.

“Maine is a small state, and Portland is a small port; however, recent investments in the Western Waterfront and the International Marine Terminal allow us to perform on the global stage,” she said.

The volume of trade coming through the port has increased 20 percent year-over-year since 2013. Last year global company Americold Logistics won a bid to build a cold-storage warehouse on a 6-acre site at the terminal.

Rejuvenating the rail and pier infrastructure at the marine terminal has given businesses more choices and competitive prices for transportation, said Maine Port Authority Executive Director John Henshaw, in a news release.

“Likewise, freight movement by rail or air incurs less infrastructure costs and produces fewer emissions than freight movement by truck. In doing so, multi-modal freight movement leads to cleaner air, better public infrastructure and higher quality of life.”

The award given to the terminal expansion was one of seven given out to transportation departments in seven Northeast states, and among three that took awards in the quality of life/community development category.

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