Railroad project could see funding

MOSES LAKE — The Columbia Basin Railroad’s segment 2 expansion may receive federal funds this year to help deliver rail service to Moses Lake-area businesses.

MOSES LAKE — The Columbia Basin Railroad’s segment 2 expansion may receive federal funds this year to help deliver rail service to Moses Lake-area businesses.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) subcommittee, placed $2 million for the railroad project in the 2011 THUD appropriations bill Tuesday.

The spending bill advances to appropriations subcommittee for consideration, according to Murray’s office.

“This extension of rail will not only preserve approximately 75 existing jobs, but will create approximately 200 new jobs in various manufacturing industries expressing an interest in relocating or expanding into the Moses Lake area,” stated Port of Moses Lake board president Mike Conley. “This rail extension will ease some of the trucking transportation congestion now being experienced on Interstate 90.”

Tim Kelly, the railroad’s chief operations officer, said the request “is an important first step in the long-term process for economic development for the Port of Moses Lake.”

The railroad thinks the industrial development and the future BMW/SGL plant helped make a difference to elevate the project to a higher level, said Pat Boss, the railroad’s government affairs consultant.

“It’s clearly a positive benefit to funding this because there’s economic activity happening around the airport,” he said.

Boss called the project “huge,” which entails bringing rail directly to the SGL/BMW site and to other businesses.

The total amount of the project is about $5 million.

If approved by Congress, Boss estimated the money would be available for use by Oct. 1.