Washington state port primed to start major rail project in fall 

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

For more than 20 years, the Port of Moses Lake in Washington has sought to carry out the Northern Columbia Basin Rail Project to gain direct rail access and a BNSF Railway connection. Some new developments over the past few months are helping to push the project closer to the starting line. 

In June, a state law took effect that ensures the port remains eligible for federal funding to finish critical rail and power upgrades, including the Northern Columbia Basin Rail Project. Estimated to cost between $40 million and $47.5 million, the project will be funded by a mix of local, state and federal dollars. 

Then in July, the port selected Rock Project Management Services as the project’s construction manager. And now, the port is accepting bids for the work, with bids due Oct. 2. 

The port aims to restore rail service lost in 2009 and connect points in the area — including 1,250 acres of industrial land — to rail. The project would reconnect the port and nearby Grant County International Airport to BNSF via the Columbia Basin Railroad (CBRW), which is owned by Jaguar Transport Holdings. CBRW operates more than 200 miles of track between Moses Lake and Connell, Washington, and interchanges with BNSF. 

The scope of work covered by the invitation to bid includes construction of a 4.7-mile rail spur and improvements to 2.7 miles of existing track. Other portions of work involve site demolition; erosion control; new embankments and culverts; grade crossing construction with associated roadway improvements; new railroad crossing signals; the installation of underground utilities; paving; and striping and signage. 

Construction on the project will be broken into segments. Segment 1 involves building a five-mile rail line to serve more than 1,000 acres of industrial-zoned land in the Wheeler Industrial Corridor in Moses Lake. 

The new track will be constructed from a CBRW line in Wheeler, over Crab Creek to a connection with a rail line to be rehabilitated (under Segment 3) that serves the port and Grant County International Airport. Segment 1 also includes the construction of four grade crossings. 

The line will bypass downtown, provide freight-rail access to existing businesses, help agricultural producers expand and attract new users to the corridor, port leaders say. In addition, trains can be re-routed out of downtown Moses Lake, creating new opportunities for public access, said Director of Port Facilities Milt Miller in an email. 

The line will eliminate a major impediment to retaining and attracting new industries in rural central Washington by providing a more cost-effective transportation option for existing businesses, agricultural producers and new industries to ship freight to and from Pacific Northwest ports and the Midwest, according to the port. 

Segment 3 calls for rehabilitating a three-mile line between Crab Creek and the airport that CBRW donated to the port last year. The line currently terminates just south of the airport. The segment work will restore rail service to the port and airport — which was lost in 2009 — by connecting Segment 1 and a future Segment 2. 

Rock Project Management Services is handling any inquiries about the bids or construction work. Based in Renton, Washington, the company provides capital program management, capital facilities planning, project management, construction management and other services. 

Construction on the project could start in mid- to late fall, port officials estimate. 

“It can start as soon as all the permits and subsequent paperwork are filed,” said Miller. “We are projecting an 18-month build time.”