Getting There: Barker Road bridge over rail line could be funded
The U.S. Department of Transportation last week announced that it will make $800 million in grant funds available for projects related to movement of freight, including places where roads and rails come together, over the coming year.
It is the first time the U.S. government has singled out freight mobility as a priority for grant funding.
Bryan Watt, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Friday that a Barker Road crossing over the BNSF line is eligible under the program.
Washington has the most trade-dependent economy in the U.S., according to Cantwell’s office.
Cantwell has led the effort to have freight mobility included as a priority in transportation funding. The grant program was included in a new transportation act adopted by Congress last year.
The $800 million announced for grants last week is for the current fiscal year. In all, $4.5 billion will go to freight mobility projects nationally through 2020.
“As the most trade dependent state in the nation, Washington relies on a network of ports, railways and roads to sell products around the globe,” Cantwell said in a news release.
“Today, for the first time, critical multimodal freight projects in Washington and across the U.S. are eligible for funding through this new grant program,” she said.
The North Spokane Corridor, which was fully funded by a separate state transportation package last year, has been identified as a key freight corridor.
Watt said he was not sure whether the freeway project would qualify for freight mobility grant funding.
In 2006, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council concluded that separating roadways from mainline crossings is an important goal for public safety and economic growth.
The rail corridor with road crossings extends for 42 miles, from Spokane across the state line to Athol.
SRTC’s long-range plan calls for building two bridge crossings at Barker and Sullivan roads and an underpass at Pines Road and Trent Avenue.
Cantwell previously worked on legislation that set the stage for freight mobility funding through creation of a Freight Policy Council, which has developed a national freight strategic plan.
According to Cantwell’s office, 44 percent of Washington state jobs are dependent on freight, and for every $1 billion spent on freight investments, about 20,000 jobs are created.
Transportation leadership changes
The shakeup in leadership at the Washington Department of Transportation has extended to Spokane, where the regional administrator position has changed hands for now.
Keith Metcalf, longtime administrator in Spokane, has accepted a job as acting deputy secretary of transportation under Acting Secretary Roger Millar.
Mike Frucci will be the acting regional administrator in Spokane through March.
The shakeup occurred when Senate Republicans last month refused to confirm former Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson.
New signs warn speeders on Trent
The regional state transportation office has installed special automated speed limit signs on state Highway 290 (also known as Trent Avenue) at Starr Road.
The automated signs are just past the regular speed limit signs there. They light up when a driver’s speed exceeds the limit.
The automated signs turn off if the offending driver slows to the speed limit.
Meeting set on passing lanes
New passing lanes for state Highway 195 between Colfax and Spangle will be the subject of a community meeting in Colfax on Wednesday.
As part of last year’s transportation funding package, lawmakers included passing lanes on U.S. 195 in the legislation, which also raises the state gas tax.
Transportation officials said passing lanes spaced along a two-lane rural highway are shown to reduce collisions by 42 percent.
State transportation officials and others will be at the meeting to explain their ideas. Some of the planning included a 2013 analysis of crash data on the U.S. 195 corridor from Spokane to Pullman and the Lewiston region.
The meeting is set for 6 to 8 p.m. at Colfax Junior Senior High School, 1110 N. Morton St.