Port approves rail grant application

Port of Whitman commissioners Thursday approved a motion to apply for the Freight Rail Assistance Program which would be in effect for 2020.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, FRAP is a grant program open to applicants in both the public and private sector. The type of projects must be shown to maintain or improve the freight rail system in the state and benefit the state's interests.

If approved, the grant funds will be used for repairs needed at the Port of Central Ferry. Currently, repairs that are being made there are $3,000 or less each year.

Central Ferry consists of 147 acres of developed land divided into 18 industrial lots.

Kara Riebold, chief operating officer for the Port of Whitman, said the current repairs at Central Ferry is to stay ahead of any further damage.

This program is directed toward larger projects where the rail location or the project is of strategic importance.

Riebold said with this funding they will be able to replace the wood with concrete and asphalt enforced concrete, 500 new ties, ditching, track clean up and replacing the 90-pound rail with a 115-pound rail.

“The cost estimate for that whole project is $1.3 million,” Riebold said. “They have 2.9 million in the FRAP program for grant funding for rail projects.”

The port will apply for $500,000.