The Port of Kalama, Wash., receives $26.3M federal grant to replace tracks, increasing grain loading efficiency by 30%. Sen. Cantwell emphasizes economic opportunities and job creation from enhanced rail project connecting Midwest to Asia. Grant part of $115.6M investment in Washington state’s rail infrastructure.
Photo courtesy of office of U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell
(L-R): Port Commissioner Patrick Harbison, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Port Commissioner Randy Sweet tour the Port of Kalama on Oct. 26, 2024.
The Port of Kalama, Wash., will receive a $266.32 million federal grant to pay to replace tracks and allow the port — already one of the largest grain exporters on the West Coast — to load grain cargo faster. U.S. Sen Maria Cantwell of Washington announced in a news release.
"We need to be thinking about the export opportunities in the United States," said Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation during an Oct. 26. 2024, tour of the port.
"We know how many jobs are related to trade activity, but not everybody in the country does, so we have to communicate to them," she said. "You guys are representing all the way back to the Midwest, right? This isn't just about us, even though we're a big wheat-producing state. This is about the whole country getting product all the way to Asia. This is a huge, huge economic opportunity, and we have to build capacity in order to take advantage of it."
The port sits along the Columbia River near Interstate 5 in southwest Washington, about 30 miles northwest of Portland, Ore.
The project will replace rail tracks at the Port of Kalama's Tacoma Export Marketing Co. (TEMCO) Terminal. The replacement tracks will support storage of two loaded and two empty trains simultaneously at the port — expected to increase the loading efficiency of grain from rail to ship by up to 30 percent. In addition to the federal funds, the Port of Kalama will contribute a 20 percent match.
The Port of Kalama plays a key role in transporting cargo in and out of the Pacific Northwest and from as far away as South Dakota. Fifty million tons of cargo travel up and down the Columbia River, including more than half of the United States' domestically grown wheat. The TEMCO Terminal directly employs 140 people who load up to 2 million bushels of grain every day. This rail project also will create an additional 40 construction jobs.
Progressive Railroading reported that the project will add 25,000 linear ft. of track for the staging of both loaded and unloaded trains. Additional work will include right-of-way acquisition; engineering; mitigation; track removal; realignment; and the expansion of nearby recreational amenities,
The port leases the grain facility to TEMCO, according to Progressive Railroading. TEMCO then uses the terminal to export feed grains, soybeans, oil, seeds and wheat to Asian and Pacific markets. The terminal has one berth with a water depth of 40-45 ft. It can load 120,000 bushels of grains per hour and store 6.5 million bushels.
TEMCO's average volumes have grown drastically in recent years, according to Progressive Railroading There were 7.6 million metric tons of exports in 2013. By 2021, the total was 15.3 million metric tons.
The Port of Kalama grant was one of nine major investments in Washington state's rail system infrastructure announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation in October, totaling $115,577,598. The improvements will boost railroad capacity all across the state, helping move freight and agricultural products quickly and more safely between our communities and international markets.
The grants come from the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, which funds projects that improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail.
Cantwell secured $5 billion over five years for the CRISI program in her Surface Transportation Investment Act, which was included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, tripling annual funding for the program.
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