The Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville will receive more than 30 cargo-laden barges by June 30 destined for Lehigh Cement Inc.'s plant in Mitchell, about 50 miles northwest of the port.

Indiana's ports authority has landed a more than $545,000 federal grant for a planned steel barge shuttle that officials say will boost steel coil shipments at the states Ohio River port in Jeffersonville.

The River Ridge Development Authority Board unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday setting aside about 27 acres as a conservation easement for bats near a road project will link River Ridge, the Indiana 265 interchange and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.

Indiana's three ports had their second-best start to the year ever in the first half of 2017, moving 19 percent more cargo than at the same time last year.

It was the first year in the Ports of Indiana's history that the state's three ports handled more than 12 million tons.