November 2, 2025 - The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) announced the launch of the Blue Highways Action Plan on Oct. 31, a comprehensive report focused on actionable steps to revive short sea shipping and maritime freight movement throughout New York City waterways.
This plan marks a major milestone in reimagining the city’s waterfront, reducing truck congestion, and creating new pathways for economic opportunity and sustainability through investments in maritime freight infrastructure. The Blue Highways Action Plan is also a major step forward in the effort to build the Harbor of the Future—a reimagined network of innovation and growth across New York City’s waterways.
NYCEDC’s recent workforce development report, NYC’s Working Waterfront: A Blueprint for Blue Highways, projects that the maritime sector will support 117,000 jobs in New York City by 2035. This expansion will create new roles in port operations, shipbuilding, logistics, and last-mile delivery, strengthening local businesses and communities.
With freight volumes projected to grow by 67 percent through 2045, congestion and emissions from truck traffic pose increasing challenges to New York City’s quality of life and infrastructure. Each day, more than 44,000 trucks cross critical chokepoints like the George Washington and Verrazano Bridges, leading to delays costing the city an estimated $20 billion annually in lost productivity, increased maintenance, and environmental impacts.
The Blue Highways Action Plan proposes a strategic shift: moving a significant portion of freight deliveries off crowded streets and onto the city’s navigable waterways, taking advantage of 520 miles of waterfront and last mile microdelivery by commercial cargo bike. By leveraging publicly controlled waterfront assets, partnering with private industry, and investing in supportive infrastructure for last mile microdeliveries, the plan aims to reduce congestion, pollution, and roadway wear—while catalyzing economic growth and job creation.
Read the full press release here and the Blue Highways Action Plan here.
