RICHLAND, Wash. – Port of Benton has been selected to receive a $9.56 million grant to repair and improve the port’s Southern Connection industrial rail line from Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennewick to Horn Rapids Road in Richland, according to a news release.
The port’s rail is used by Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway (BNSF) to move goods in and out of the region.
The grant falls under the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, created by Senator Maria Cantwell in 2009 for local and regional projects.
“Every year, 1.3 million tons of freight travel along the Port of Benton’s 16-mile Southern Connection Rail Line. After the Port makes long overdue repairs funded by this grant, more railcars will be able to travel along the line, making it a central location for shippers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The modernized line promises to create new jobs in the Tri-Cities and get more trucks off the highway, too,” said Senator Cantwell.
The money will help pay for the following projects:
Replacing 12,000 rail ties along the rail lineReplacing the entire 1 mile of Wye track, including the ties and ballastUpgrading 3 miles of track along elevated curves to heavier-duty track to accommodate longer unit trains
“With these much-needed improvements, the track can return to Class 2 conditions, allowing train speeds to return to 25 mph. The increased speeds will reduce the time a unit train blocks an intersection from as much as 18 minutes to as little as four minutes. This reduction will shorten vehicle travel times and lessen the impact to fire and emergency vehicles, greatly improving public safety,” stated Diahann Howard, port executive director.
Meantime, phase I of a land exchange between the Port of Benton and the City of Richland to allow the port to utilize the property for an expanded intermodal facility adjacent to its existing industrial property and rail assets has been finalized.
