(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded $18 million as the first of $100 million in the next five years to boost the state’s supply chain and aggregate storage.

State officials say the first five grant recipients will create an additional 1.2 million tons of aggregate materials storage and enable more rail access to existing storage facilities. These materials are used in construction and can include sand, gravel, crushed stone and recycled concrete.