Proposed railroad repair funds now on sidetrack

Hopes that the Palouse River & Coulee City Rail Authority could receive a $60 million stimulus grant were dashed last week.

The authority sought the funds to replace track that would allow trains to travel more than twice their speed.

Joe Poire, executive director of the Port of Whitman, told port commissioners Tuesday that the governor and state Department of Transportation declined to write letters of support for the project.

The port represents Whitman County on the four-county rail authority which was formed to oversee maintenance on the 243-mile railroad system.

With the port as the lead...