Port of Coos Bay, Ore., gets $7.8-million state grant for railroad work
Written by jrood
Visioning Sessions The Port of Coos Bay, Ore., received a $7.8-million state grant for rehabilitation of the Coos Bay rail line, The Oregonian reports. The Connect Oregon grant was announced in Reedsport by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
"We are here today with the
final piece of funding that will preserve and protect this asset," Kulongoski
said.
The Coos Bay Railroad
Rehabilitation project was ranked third out of 41 projects in the running for
$97 million in lottery-backed bonds slated for investment in non-highway transportation
infrastructure through Connect Oregon III.
The port will allocate
almost half of the funds to upgrade railroad swing-span bridges at Cushman on
the Siuslaw River near Florence and on the Umpqua River at Reedsport. Much of
the rest of the grant will fund repairs to trestles.
U. S. Rep. Peter DeFazio,
D-Oregon, said the Connect Oregon transportation investment program has blazed
a path he wants to replicate at the federal level. The public investment in the
railroad exemplifies the commitment to rebuild America.
"I think this is a legacy
that 50 years from today south coast residents will look back and say, ‘Wow,"
DeFazio said.
Following the closure of
the rail line in 2007 due to unsafe tunnel conditions, state and federal
officials partnered with the port to identify $16.6 million in federal and
state grants and a state loan to purchase the rail line between Eugene and Coos
Bay.
Port Commission President
David Kronsteiner thanked Kulongoski and DeFazio for their support of the
project.
The port has acquired an
additional $13 million in grants and completed major tunnel restorations. It
also has submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Transportation for $13
million to begin repairs to rail, ties and ballasts on the line. The railroad
is scheduled to re-open in spring 2011.
