Port of Everett Starts Construction on New Rail Line
Date: Apr 13, 2017
Everett, Wash. – This month, Granite Construction started construction on a new, 3,300 lineal foot double rail siding near the South Terminal to support international cargo movement at the Port of Everett.
In February, the Port Commission awarded a $3.4 million contract to the Everett-based contractor to complete the second phase of the Port’s terminal rail enhancements to improve regional rail freight mobility and increase capacity of rail freight at the Port of Everett Seaport. This project was made possible, in part, by a federal TIGER grant. The TIGER program is an extremely valuable grant program for reinvesting in our nation’s transportation infrastructure.
The project will increase our current on-terminal rail footprint from 9,200 lineal feet to 12,500 lineal feet, and it is slated for completion in November. The project also provides a critical connection that allows BNSF easier ingress and egress to the Port's shipping facilities, reducing congestion on the mainline from Seattle to Canada and east along the northern corridor.
The Port utilizes rail to support U.S. exports and imports, including the aerospace, construction, manufacturing, energy, agricultural and forest products industries. The project allows the Port to safely and efficiently transport goods from ship to shore, with cargo arriving and departing the terminals utilizing rail as well as trucks. The use of rail service for the cargo shipments has the potential to eliminate at least 429 million commercial truck miles off of the local roads and highways. Additionally, this project will retain and help grow the Port’s 13,614 direct trade-related jobs, and provide approximately 70 construction jobs.
For more information, contact Lisa Lefeber, Chief of Policy and Communication, at lisam@portofeverett.com or by phone at 425.388.0617.
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About the Port of Everett Seaport
The Port of Everett, located 25 miles north of Seattle, is a strategic self-operating seaport that supports nearly $30 BILLION worth of U.S. exports annually, the largest customs district in Washington State. Everett is home to The Boeing Company’s largest manufacturing facility and also homeport to Naval Station Everett. Its regional transportation network supports more than 35,000 jobs and $313 million in state and local tax revenue. Everett’s seaport is a strategic port that specializes in high-value, over dimensional cargoes. Most notably, the Port of Everett serves as an extension of the aerospace manufacturing process, and plays a critical role in the industry’s just-in-time-delivery schedule. The Port has also been identified as a recovery port to provide resiliency within the region in the event of a man-made or natural disaster near the consumer ports of Seattle and Tacoma (NW Seaport Alliance). It also serves as backup support for the Department of Defense.