Railroad expansion topic of Thursday meeting

Longview school crossing remains an issue

MOSES LAKE - The Columbia Basin Railroad Project could boost economic development for the area, but concerns remain about the lack of a dedicated crossing across the tracks for Moses Lake's Longview Elementary School students.

An open house to share information about an environmental assessment for the project is set for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Grant County International Airport.

The unfunded project involves building a new rail line between Wheeler and Parker Horn, upgrading track between Parker Horn and the Grant County International Airport and lengthening the railroad track to an industrial area near the airport.

But during a project open house in 2007, safety concerns were brought up about students crossing the railroad tracks near Longview Elementary, said Andrew Wood, rail and marine deputy director for the state Department of Transportation. It's expected traffic near the school will increase with the rail project.

There's no official crossing there now. The railroad track is a long dividing line between the school playground and many homes, so some children cross the tracks instead of walking around.

There haven't been any student deaths or near misses on the track, Moses Lake School District spokesperson P.J. De Benedetti said on Friday.

Train service near the school would rise from one train a week to three to four trains a week, said Pat Boss, government affairs director for Columbia Basin Railroad, a short line railroad which serves the Columbia Basin.

The railroad generally runs trains near the school during non-school times, he explained. But there's still a concern

during off times because

neighborhood children use the school playground on the weekends, Boss said.

Included in the House's transportation budget during the 2008 legislative session was $250,000 to build a pedestrian crossing, but it didn't pass off the floor of the house, according to the legislature's Web site.

State Reps. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, and Bill Hinkle, R-Cle-Elum, wrote to the state House Transportation Committee chair asking for financial support for the project, according to the Jan. 31 letter.

Boss said the money was stripped from the budget at the last minute, but the efforts created knowledge about the project.

"Given the near success we had last year, we feel pretty good about asking for money for this session," Boss said. "It's always good when you have very high awareness of an issue."

De Benedetti said the school district, the railroad, the state Department of Transportation, the Transportation and Utilities Commission and Warnick are working together to find a solution about a crossing.

Busing is currently offered for students so they don't cross the tracks, he said.

The school district isn't opposing the railroad expansion, but believes a student crossing needs to be provided, De Benedetti said.

Railroad safety instruction for students is planned for sometime next year and will continue regardless of the expansion project outcome, he said. Letters have also been sent home to parents about the tracks, De Benedetti explained.

To offset the added traffic, Wood said the project report recommends offering rail safety instruction to students.

Depending on available project money, construction on the expansion could begin as early as 2009 or 2010, Wood said.

The project would open the Port of Moses Lake as major hub for freight, Boss said.

"It will elevate the community and could really change the face of Moses Lake for a long time," he said.

Boss recently spoke to members of the Moses Lake Business Association about the project.

He asked for the group's help in getting segment 1 of the project built, so segment 4 through town can be built into a trail. Boss said it would be great if the group could weigh in with the Moses Lake City Council.

"I think you can be a big advocate," he said. "We need you to speak up and say it's important."

If the trail isn't built, there will be trains going through town for the next 100 years, he claimed.

The line has a lot of undeveloped property and a potential for tourism development on the lake, Boss said.

Port of Moses Lake Commissioner David Plate said the current 19 crossings present an opportunity for an accident, or a child to cross a track.

"We glaze over it and say it's a convenience thing," Plate said. "That's a big deal to me as a resident."

Boss said the Temple family, which owns the railroad, wants the trains to take a bypass route.

Big Bend Community College President Bill Bonaudi said development at the port is important to the college.

If the project is built, segment 4 will be owned by the City of Moses Lake and segment 1-3 by the Port of Moses Lake, Boss said.

Boss said there's several companies located in the Foreign Trade Zone at the airport that have expressed they need railroad for inbound freight.

Many companies having to transport items by truck want the option of rail, he said.

Moses Lake Industries is indicating it may have to leave if rail service isn't extended, he said. The company is described on its Web as the "world's largest fully integrated manufacturer of tetramethylammonium hydroxide" used in silicon, semiconductor and LCD manufacturing in the electronics industry.

He spoke of a fifth segment not yet part of the project's environmental assessment that would likely connect to Burlington-Northern's main line at Soap Lake. With segment 5, the Columbia Basin could connect to the Stevens Pass line, the Stampede main line through Yakima and the Columbia River main line.

Boss later said segment 5 is a ways off. It would take a long time to complete if it ever could be done, he added.

The first three segments of the project are estimated to cost about $20 million, he said. The Port of Moses Lake and the railroad have requested about $8 million from state and federal sources for the project, but the requests haven't yet come to fruition, Boss stated.