Quincy port approves contract award for intermodal expansion
Rail lines at the intermodal facility owned by the Port of Quincy will be extended in the first phase of planned expansion. Port commissioners approved signing a contract with the apparent low bidder for the project Monday.
COURTESY PHOTO/PORT OF QUINCY
QUINCY — Construction crews will be working this winter on the first phase of expansion of the Port of Quincy’s intermodal facility. Port commissioners approved awarding a $4.62 million contract to Active Construction, Tacoma, for the project Monday.
The vote was 3-0.
Port commission chair Curt Morris said the first phase will be focused inside the existing facility.
“We’re basically adding a mile of track inside the intermodal,” Morris said. “We're preparing to cross Road O (Northwest), but we’re not going to put track across Road O.”
The intermodal facility is in the northeast section of town, with developed property belonging to other businesses to the east and north. The port does own unimproved property on the west side of Road O Northwest, and the crossing at Road O will allow access to that land.
The project also includes preparing the ground at the Road O crossing for the eventual extension of the tracks, Morris said. Once that work is completed, the road will be repaved until the tracks are extended, he said.
The port received about $4.5 million in federal and state funding for the project, Morris said.
“That other $100,000 will come out of our pocket,” he said.
Crews will be working this winter in part because the rail extension must cross an irrigation drain ditch, which is in use from March to October, he said.
The first phase should take about 18 months, Morris said. Port officials are applying for funding for the second phase, which will include signs at the railroad crossing. The rail line is inside the Quincy city limits; city officials have provided the port with the requirements for the warning signs where the tracks will cross Road O Northwest. Morris said that design is pending.
The intermodal facility allows shippers to switch from one kind of transport to another, from trucks to a train or from a train to trucks. It’s located adjacent to the BNSF tracks that run through Quincy, allowing shippers access to nationwide rail networks. Morris said the first phase of construction would double the amount of track at the intermodal facility.