(The following story by James Mayer appeared on The Oregonian website on August 25, 2010.)
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Port of Coos Bay received a $7.8 million state grant today for rehabilitation of the Coos Bay rail line.
The Connect Oregon grant was announced in Reedsport by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
“We are here today with the final piece of funding that will preserve and protect this asset,” Kulongoski said.
The Coos Bay Railroad Rehabilitation project was ranked third out of 41 projects in the running for $97 million in lottery-backed bonds slated for investment in non-highway transportation infrastructure through Connect Oregon III.
The port will allocate almost half of the funds to upgrade railroad swing-span bridges at Cushman on the Siuslaw River near Florence and on the Umpqua River at Reedsport. Much of the rest of the grant will fund repairs to trestles.
U. S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, said the Connect Oregon transportation investment program has blazed a path he wants to replicate at the federal level. The public investment in the railroad exemplifies the commitment to rebuild America.
“I think this is a legacy that 50 years from today south coast residents will look back and say, ‘Wow,” DeFazio said.
Following the closure of the rail line in 2007 due to unsafe tunnel conditions, state and federal officials partnered with the port to identify $16.6 million in federal and state grants and a state loan to purchase the rail line between Eugene and Coos Bay.
Port Commission President David Kronsteiner thanked Kulongoski and DeFazio for their support of the project.
The port has acquired an additional $13 million in grants and completed major tunnel restorations. It also has submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Transportation for $13 million to begin repairs to rail, ties and ballasts on the line. The railroad is scheduled to re-open in spring 2011.