Port news from Washington state, Alabama and New Orleans

The Port of Longview in Cowlitz County, Washington, will receive a $35.9 million loan through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program to help fund the port's industrial rail corridor expansion project, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday.

The multiyear $88 million expansion project calls for construction of a new six-track rail bed adjacent to the existing corridor, the addition of two 8,500-foot tracks and the increase of existing tracks from 7,500 feet to 8,500 feet to accommodate full-length unit trains, according to a description on the project's website.  As capacity needs increase, additional tracks will be added to the already prepared rail bed.

When completed, the project will double freight capacity through the corridor. The port is served by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

Meanwhile, the Alabama Port Authority has approved a contract with Konecranes for the delivery of two rubber-tired gantry cranes, which will serve as the backbone for container handling at the Montgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility. Construction is underway on the project; the facility is expected to begin serving customers in 2027, according to a port authority press release.

Developed in partnership with CSX, the project will expand the port's reach into central Alabama, offering seamless rail and truck connections to global markets. The nearly $100 million project is funded primarily through federal appropriations. Since the project was announced in 2022, more than $8 billion in private economic development investment has been announced in the surrounding area. 

Also this week, Port of New Orleans officials announced that the port's Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project has been registered with the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework. LIT is the first new container terminal in the country and the first project in Louisiana to register with Envision.

Developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, Envision is a comprehensive, global framework that provides a standardized way to evaluate and improve the sustainability of infrastructure projects. 

Registering with Envision underscores NOLA’s commitment to building infrastructure that prioritizes environmental stewardship, social responsibility and long-term economic resilience, port officials said in a press release. Port NOLA is served by the six Class Is, connected by the port's New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.