VANCOUVER, Wash. — Port and political leaders celebrated a major milestone for the Port of Vancouver USA on Tuesday: the completion of a major rail improvement and efficiency project more than a decade in the making.
The West Vancouver Freight Access Project was really 21 different projects combined, to make rail traffic in and out of the port more significant and efficient. It cost more $251 million, but also came in millions under budget.
A cornerstone of the project is an enormous watertight trench, which accommodates rail for east-west trains and runs under the old 1908 railway bridge. The new path eliminates congestion of trains coming from different directions.
Supporters say that, and many other improvements, have been thanks to public and private partners, and thousands of workers. State and federal leaders from both sides of the aisle came out to celebrate the completion of a project they both supported.
"We know when it comes to transportation and opening the world to trade and building jobs we can do hard things and we've done hard things that we are celebrating here today," said Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat.
"It's provided a thousand new jobs and an additional 4,000 construction jobs and it's already attracted 400 million dollars in private investment, which is not exactly small change," said Washington congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican.
Port leaders say the improvements don’t just help rail efficiency at the Port of Vancouver USA. They also help places like Houston and Chicago, and Canada and Mexico.