Supporters of a proposed container shipping port that could accept freight from New York and New Jersey say it could help reduce truck traffic on badly congested Interstate 95 in Bridgeport, Conn.

According to Associated Press reports, the $5 million, deep-water port proposal calls for shipping containers to be carried by barge from ports in New York and New Jersey. They would be loaded onto trucks in Bridgeport before being dispatched by road to locations throughout the region.
Planners say the port could remove as many as 400 trucks a month from I-95 along the Connecticut coast. The proposed facility would be built with state and federal support and is considered a demonstration project.
Backers of the port say, while it's cheaper to haul cargo on roads, the barge plan could help meet clean-air goals and ease the financial demands for improvements to the road network. They also hope to use some of the highway money to fund the port alternative.
The project could eventually include additional ports such as New Haven and New London, officials told the AP.
"This operation would reduce the number of trucks beginning in New Jersey and traveling through New York City and southern Fairfield County along I-95," said James Wang, director of the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency, which supports the proposal.