EVERETT — A group of businesses and property owners is proposing a short line rail loop to move Cedar Grove compost off Everett’s Smith Island to markets outside western Washington.
A plan submitted to the city calls for a 61-acre railroad terminal with a 1.8 mile-long loop track connected to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline.
The main partner in the $7 million project is Cedar Grove Composting. The company could sell its compost to eastern Washington vineyards if it had the option of cheaper shipping by rail.
Cedar Grove composted 134,000 tons of organic household waste last year.
Half the cost of the rail project would pay for an underpass at a crossing to prevent trucks from Concrete Nor’west from being blocked by trains.
