State and local elected officials were on hand at a Port of Vancouver ribbon cutting this morning to celebrate the completion of new rail infrastructure and to recognize the many partners who helped make it happen.
The completed project, known as “the trench,” eliminates conflicts between the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad mainlines and traffic entering the port. The project is a $30 million piece of the port’s $275 million West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project, which helps to move products from source to market by reducing rail congestion by as much as 40 percent.
Port CEO Todd Coleman said the project was completed $8 million under budget and ahead of schedule.
Senator Maria Cantwell, who spoke to a large crowd of stakeholders and members of the media at the event, said the efficient movement of goods is a must if Washington state businesses are to remain competitive.
“We cannot have bottlenecks of congestion, and that’s what this project is about [solving],” she said. “We know firsthand that improving rail access will help business competitiveness in Southwest Washington.”
Coleman said the WVFA project has already contributed to $400 million in business investments – from port tenants like Farwest Steel and Great Western Malting Co.
The entire West Vancouver Freight Access project is expected to be complete in 2017, roughly a year ahead of schedule and about $50 million under original estimates.
