When it comes to cleaning up transportation, ferries often don’t get a whole lot of attention, despite being the only way for travelers in some areas to get where they’re going.

But that’s poised to change with $300 million in grants the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday to support modernizing ferry systems in 14 states. 

“Ferries serve Americans who depend heavily on this form of transit because of where they live,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “These funds will make it easier for Americans to move about their day while also protecting the rivers and waterways they depend on economically.”

Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the department is awarding 18 grants to projects that include expanding service as well as replacing ferry boats that currently run on diesel or gas with zero-emissions electrics and installing charging equipment. 

Ferries have proliferated in areas where expanding a highway or building a bridge either costs too much or is geographically unfeasible. Each year, the DOT said 56 million trips are made on ferries in the U.S. in both urban and rural areas. 

More than half of the funding will go toward ferry service in rural communities, including the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities which will build a new ferry to replace the one that has been operating for 60 years with a new diesel-electric vessel.

About $56 million will be provided to urban areas to create new ferry service and to repair and modernize ferry boats, terminals and facilities. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority will receive $11.5 million to build a pair of electric ferries that will connect the growing residential areas of Treasure Island and Mission Bay with downtown San Francisco.