Port takes step forward on railroad project

MOSES LAKE — The Port of Moses Lake Commission approved a $2 million contract with HDR, Inc., for engineering support services for the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad (NCBR) project Monday.

Port Executive Director Jeff Bishop said HDR’s scope of work in the agreement includes various tasks that will get the rail project ready to go to bid for construction. The contract, in which the port will pay HDR just over $2.03 million, will be paid for in part by the approximately $1 million in grant funding the port accepted from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) about two weeks ago.

To cover the rest of the costs of HDR’s engineering services — more than $1 million — the port will borrow money from Umpqua Bank, according to Bishop. However, a provision in the port’s grant agreement with WSDOT will allow the port to be reimbursed for these additional costs in the state’s next biennium. So while WSDOT allocated just less than $1 million to the Port of Moses Lake for engineering for the rail project this biennium, it is feasible that it will allocate more funds in the next biennium.

“That was part of the difficulty we had negotiating our agreement with WSDOT, was getting a provision that allowed us to do that,” Bishop said. “We are at risk if the Legislature for some reason chooses not to appropriate any money. There is no technical problem — as long as there is money there (the port will be reimbursed).”

In essence, the WSDOT grant allows the port to “borrow ahead” to pay for engineering and right-of-way purchase for the rail project. The Port Commission’s approval Monday means the port will now move forward with HDR to complete the engineering preparations for the rail project so the project will be ready to go to bid.

HDR’s timeline for completing the engineering services and right-of-way acquisitions for the rail project was not available Monday. Kurt Reichelt, vice president of HDR, said at Monday’s meeting that the firm’s initial kickoff meeting with port staff is schedule for next Monday, at which time it is anticipated a tentative timeline will be developed.

At Monday’s meeting, Reichelt detailed the work that HDR will be completing as part of this contract, which does not yet include construction of the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad project. The firm will be completing surveying, geotechnical investigation, permitting and right-of-way acquisition for the rail project, among other things.

Reichelt said HDR’s work as part of the approved contract will get the project to the point where it is ready to go to bid. He said the engineering work will be complete so that the rail project, which is divided into three segments, could go to bid as three different projects, or as one project consisting of all three parts.

Design for the first and third segments of the project are already 30 percent complete, while design for Segment 2 is 90 percent complete, Reichelt said. Bishop said most of Segment 2 of the rail project will fall on property that is owned by the port, which is why it is further along in the development stage. The other two segments involve more complicated factors, like right-of-way acquisitions and permitting.

“The permitting is key,” Reichelt said. “Design will go along at the same pace. The critical path items are going to be the right-of-way acquisition and the permits for crossing.”

Bishop said during the meeting that this agreement with HDR is important to keep the project moving along.

“We need to get permitting underway and we need to get right-of-way acquisition engaged because those are critical to the port obtaining satisfactory progress to keep the Surface Transportation Board satisfied,” he said.

In February, the Port of Moses Lake approved HDR as the most qualified firm to provide engineering services for the NCBR project. The port began negotiations with HDR at that time for a contract for engineering services.

The Northern Columbia Basin Railroad project aims at providing expanded freight rail service to more than 1,500 acres of industrial property in Moses Lake. It will provide a rail connection to the Burlington Northern main line and direct rail service to property designated for industrial development in northern Moses Lake, as well as to the south and east of Grant County International Airport.

The Washington State Legislature allocated about $20 million in funding for the NCBR project in the 2015-17 Transportation Revenue Package that was passed in 2015. The port’s most recent cost estimates indicate the project is still about $13 million short of being fully funded, and the port has been seeking state and federal grant funding to close that gap.

Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.