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Study says Longview port needs more tracks to grow

It also finds overpass would relieve potential traffic backups

By Mallory Gruben, The Daily News, Longview
Published: June 12, 2020, 7:25pm

To significantly increase export volumes, the Port of Longview will need to add at least four new tracks to its Industrial Rail Corridor, according to a recent rail and road study.

KPFF Consulting Engineers Inc. presented a summary of findings to port commissioners Thursday. The port contracted KPFF to help with its rail line expansion and Berth 4 redevelopment projects.

The port is preparing for a $70 million to $100 million upgrade of its Industrial Rail Corridor. KPFF explored four track configurations for port consideration, including one option to keep the rail line as it is.

The no-change scenario would support roughly 3 million tons of exports annually, excluding exports from the Berth 8 Export Grain Terminal. That would mean very little expansion, as last year the port exported roughly 2 million tons of non-EGT commodities.

Investing in additional rail line and related infrastructure would allow the port to export between 9 million tons and 12 million tons annually, again excluding EGT, said KPFF representative Steve Kingsley. But the port would likely need to add four to six rail lines to do so, he said.

The study also found an overpass or “grade separated vehicle access” into the port would relieve potential traffic backups. Layouts without an overpass would cause delays in excess of 15 minutes for vehicle traffic on International Way and other port access roads. And should the trains arrive at peak traffic hours weekday mornings, traffic could back up to Industrial Way.

The port could also choose to break the trains into smaller sections to limit traffic delays. However, that would increase overall operating costs and likely decrease the daily throughput of trains.

“Export operations exceeding 2 to 3 million tons would really want to see those trains left intact to have lower operating costs,” Kingsley said. “It could potentially be useful to use broken unit trains as a short-term strategy, but it doesn’t seem like a good long-term strategy to support growth.”

The study and related consulting services cost about $350,000, said Dale Lewis, port spokesperson. Although it did not make any recommendations for specific projects, the study will guide future planning.

“This is a tool to help develop the master plan and prioritize projects that will yield the greatest economic return for the port,” Lewis said.

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