Getting There: State asking community members for help with short-line services
State-owned feeder rail lines in Eastern and Central Washington provide a vital link for growers and business people who want to ship products on mainline rail.
The feeder lines haul freight to the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad for long-haul shipping.
Now, the state wants those with a stake in the short-line services to help draw up a strategic plan for future investments.
Three workshops will be held starting Thursday on a 20-year plan for the 297-mile Palouse River and Coulee City Rail System.
The first workshop will be Thursday at Ephrata City Hall from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
The other two workshops will be Nov. 13 at the Spokane Regional Transportation Council office, 221 W. First Ave., Suite 310, from 2:30 to 4 p.m.; and Dec. 9 at Clarkston City Hall from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
The Washington state Department of Transportation has been reaching out to farmers, rail experts, citizens and local officials to encourage them to participate.
Participants will be asked to identify needed improvements to rails and crossings and in day-to-day operations.
For example, track from Cheney to the Geiger Spur in southwest Spokane County is in need of upgrading to handle heavier trains, including 110-car grain trains that are going to be shipped from a new loading facility along Craig Road north of Interstate 90.
The $26.4 million facility is nearing the start of construction. It is being financed by a consortium of five grain cooperatives in Central and Eastern Washington that would move grain on PCC rails for loading into the unit trains.
Bob Westby, of the WSDOT rail office, said two other pieces of track are not being used. One from Colfax to Pullman is closed because of a burned trestle. Another section from Fallon to Moscow, Idaho, has little traffic.
He said he wants to know if the communities along those lines feel they need them in the future.
The state purchased the short line, made up of three different lines, in a deal that was wrapped up in 2007.
Westby said the short-line system gives shippers more options for moving grain and other products. It also reduces traffic on highways.
About 40,000 truck trips are eliminated from highways because of the short lines, he said.
Last year, the lines carried 20 percent of Washington’s $1 billion wheat crop.
The lines run from Cheney to Coulee City; Marshall to Palouse; and Colfax to Hooper Junction and Thornton.
High Drive, 29th Avenue closed
The intersection of High Drive and 29th Avenue will close today for about five days for the ongoing construction involving streets, utilities and a new pathway.
STA holding open house in Cheney
The next open house for public input on Spokane Transit Authority’s proposal for improving transit service will be Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Cheney at the Wren Pierson Community Center.
“Transit improvements have been identified as priorities by citizens in Cheney and the other West Plains communities of Airway Heights and Medical Lake,” said Susan Meyer, the CEO of STA. “We are enthusiastic about sharing the draft implementation plan and hearing feedback from these citizens.”
A proposed West Plains transit center near the Medical Lake interchange on I-90 is included in the plan. It would improve connections among West Plains communities.
STA officials said the transit center and accompanying park-and-ride lot would cut vehicle travel on I-90 by drawing some 320,000 new bus boardings annually.
The STA Moving Forward proposal includes a central city trolley bus line from Browne’s Addition to Spokane Community College and new high-performance transit on major corridors, including the route to Cheney, one of the most heavily used on the STA system.
UI professor named director of NIATT
The University of Idaho has selected civil engineering professor Ahmed Abdel-Rahim as the permanent director of the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology.
Abdel-Rahim was named interim director this spring and has been a NIATT researcher since 2000.
NIATT puts the university in the middle of work in developing, implementing and deploying new transportation solutions nationwide.
Abdel-Rahim also serves as director of a $6.8 million university research consortium with partners such as Old Dominion University, Syracuse University, Texas Southern University and Virginia Tech University. The consortium has support from the federal government.
Trail pavement repairs complete
Pavement repairs to a flood-damaged section of the Centennial Trail at the Flora rapids on the Spokane River have been finished, a trail user reported last week. Cuts in state parks funding caused a delay in making the repairs after the damage several years ago. The cost of the work was split with Spokane Valley.
Sullivan Road bridge traffic adjustments
Also in Spokane Valley, work to prepare for demolition of the southbound Sullivan Road bridge over the river is causing traffic adjustments. Northbound turns from Indiana Avenue to Sullivan Road are now reduced to one lane. Also, the Centennial Trail beneath bridges is closed today through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for construction of a protective cover over the trail. A new bridge will be built to replace the old one.
Music event restricts traffic near the Fox
In downtown Spokane, a music encounter event for fourth-grade schoolchildren will result in traffic restrictions on Wednesday and Thursday starting about 10 a.m. each day near the Fox Theater at Sprague Avenue and Monroe Street. Police are expected to be on hand to help with the crowd and traffic control.