New to Vancouver, David Evans and Assoc. takes phase one contract
Port of Vancouver Commissioners have approved nearly $6 million to fund the first construction phase of the Port’s new rail access project, known as the West Vancouver Freight Access Project.
The port awarded Portland-based firm David Evans & Assoc. a $1.5 million contract to provide final design, engineering and construction management services for phase one of the project. DEA currently is opening an office in Vancouver.
This first step will bring the port’s rail lead off the BNSF east-west mainline at about Columbia Street and will extend to the edge of the current Boise Cascade property. The new line will provide continued rail service to the Lafarge cement facility and the Albina Asphalt plant located just east of the Port.
This first phase is scheduled to be break ground by fall of 2007, with a planned completion date of July 1, 2008.
“The rail windows for trains serving the port on the current Hill Track line, which crosses and blocks the BNSF mainline, are becoming tighter and will eventually create critical service issues,” said Larry Paulson, port executive director, in a statement. “More than 70 percent of cargo travels to and from the port by rail and that figure is projected to increase to over 80 percent in the next 20 years.”
A study of current tenant and marine cargo growth forecasts, along with port expansion plans, calls for the annual number of rail cars entering the port to increase from 45,000 to 160,000 by 2025.
Phases two through five of the project will complete the new rail access onto Port property, restructure internal rail lines to handle increased volumes more efficiently, add dockside rail to Terminal 2, and extend rail to serve marine and industrial developments at Columbia Gateway.
The entire project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2009. The cost is estimated to be nearly $56 million, funded by a combination of port revenues and bonds, federal and state appropriations, and contributions from private industry partners.
