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Port of Coos Bay Earns $25M INFRA Grant

[ October 25, 2024   //   ]

The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay has been awarded a US$25 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant for the development of its Pacific Coast Intermodal Port, or PCIP.
The funding, from the DOT’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program, or INFRA will support environmental compliance and permitting as well as design and engineering work as the port moves forward with its infrastructure plans.
Port officials expect the five-year, US$2.3 billion project – arguably the first ship-to-rail port facility on the U.S. West Coast – will handle 1.2 million shipping containers annually.
Melissa Cribbins, executive director of the PCIP, called the INFRA grant a “game changer.
“Oregon’s Congressional delegation has been relentless in their pursuit of dollars for the PCIP,” Cribbins said. “This federal grant is a watershed moment for the region and adds the federal government to the growing list of critical supporters for one of the impactful rural economic development projects in state history.”
The PCIP, a public-private partnership between the port and NorthPoint Development, is designed to be a modern intermodal container terminal that leverages Coos Bay’s strategic location and deepwater access. The project will streamline logistics by allowing cargo to seamlessly transfer between ships and rail, reducing congestion and lowering transportation costs for businesses.
The PCIP is a three-part project, which will:

  • Dredge the Coos Bay Federal Navigation Channel to 45 feet deep by 450 feet wide, from its current average depth of 37 feet and average width of 300 feet. The modifications will allow the channel to accommodate Neopanamax container vessels of up to 13,000 TEUs.
  • Construct a new intermodal terminal, on the North Spit of Coos County, about six miles from open ocean, with a capacity of 2 million TEUs of import/export cargo per year. The PCIP will minimize its environmental footprint by using equipment powered by electricity generated from green sources, cold ironing for berthed ships to reduce pollution, and reliance upon rail (rather than truck) to move goods from the terminal to its destination.
  • Upgrade and rehabilitate the Coos Bay Rail Line to support increased freight traffic while enhancing railroad safety for rail crews and residents of Coos, Douglas, and Lane counties.
    In addition, the Union Pacific’s Eugene rail yard will be improve with the installation of interchange tracks, providing seamless access to the Class I railroad’s national network.
    For more information on the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port project please visit: https://pcipproject.com/

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