The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay has been awarded USD204.8 million in federal funding for rail improvements supporting the planned Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP).
The award is via the US Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Programme. It will fund final design and construction work on the Coos Bay Rail Line, connecting the planned international container terminal to the national freight rail network.
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According to the port, the grant is among the largest awards in this year’s CRISI funding cycle and represents the PCIP’s first major federal award supporting construction.
The works include improvements to track, bridges and tunnels, alongside new sidings and turnarounds and the installation of Centralised Traffic Control. These upgrades will allow the line to accommodate double-stack container trains and provide capacity for the future terminal.
The PCIP is being developed through a public-private partnership between the port and NorthPoint Development, which is leading the marine terminal development.
NorthPoint’s team includes Bohlin Group, which has worked on the project for more than five years and managed the technical elements of federal grant applications.
Chad Meyer, President of NorthPoint Development, said: “The planning, engineering, and permitting are essential, but at some point you’ve got to put people and equipment on the ground and start building. That’s what makes this award different. For the first time, we’ve secured major federal funding for construction, not just planning for it. Once the necessary permits are in place, this investment will help us get to work.”
The port describes the PCIP as the first new container gateway planned for the US West Coast in a generation and the nation’s first ship-to-rail container terminal designed to move nearly all landside cargo by rail.
The terminal has a planned annual capacity of approximately 1.2 million TEUs. The project is expected to support approximately 2,500 permanent direct jobs and 2,600 construction jobs over a three-year construction period.
The latest award builds on USD160 million committed by the Oregon Legislature, nearly USD70 million in earlier federal grants and a USD25 million private-sector commitment from NorthPoint Development.
The port and its partners are continuing environmental review, permitting, engineering and design work for the marine terminal, navigation channel and associated rail infrastructure.