Port of Olympia secures intermodal funding
Funding for $2 million in intermodal freight improvements at the Port of Olympia’s international shipping terminal was included in Congress' 2006 transportation appropriations bill and will be used to continue the second phase of the port’s infrastructure enhancement project, the port announced Tuesday.
“These important improvements will significantly increase the Port’s ability to handle greater volumes of cargo by shifting cargo from truck to rail,' Port Commissioner Steve Pottle said in a statement.
The port’s intermodal project is a three-phase project designed to expand capacity to handle greater volumes of cargo by shifting emphasis from trucks to rail. The project is expected to allow the port to more than double its cargo-processing capacity and reduce its dependence on local roads, particularly the heavily congested I-5 corridor.
The new funding will provide for the construction of additional loading and storage track at the marine terminal, enabling the switching of railcars within port boundaries and minimizing impacts on traffic in downtown Olympia.
It will follow construction of the first phase of the project, currently under way, which adds and extends dock-side track, allowing the direct discharge of cargo from ships to rail cars.
The port will also examine a third phase, which will add track and barge-loading facilities.
