Railroad project waits for study

Report will indicate next step in 'long, slow' process

MOSES LAKE — The folks at the Port of Moses Lake don't build railroads every day.

"If we were talking about building runways, we could pretty much tell you exactly the process we need to go through," said Albert Anderson, port industrial development manager. "But with railroads, what we see is not going to be a short-term solution. We see this as maybe being two to five years."

Last year, the state legislature appropriated $2 million for the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project, which is working to relocate existing railroad line along the Wheeler Corridor from downtown Moses Lake and connect it to port property.

Appropriation money went to the Washington State Department of Transportation rail office, which has been in the process of conducting a "conceptual" engineering and feasibility study, Anderson said, adding the study cost $270,000.

"They have a lot of railroad experts that kind of stand back, look at the lay of the land and understanding what we're trying to accomplish," he said.

The study has not yet been published, but Anderson said those working on the project "pretty much" know what it will say, and will confirm — "more or less … this is not down to engineering, putting stakes in the ground" — what the port had already done with a task force prior to the appropriations.

"We're moving in the right direction," he said. "This is a long, slow process when it comes to building new railroads. But we think they're going to reaffirm what we have suspected, and that's a good place to be."

Added elements delayed the originally anticipated publication date of the report, including meeting the expectation of Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Moses Lake, that the project look more closely at connecting with the intermodal project in Quincy and ensure the two projects were working together.

"The idea with the study from the beginning was to get this information so the state legislature could then use that as information for more appropriations here this year," Anderson explained.

While the port is the chief proponent of the project, Anderson said the district is working on behalf of a number of stakeholders.

"We feel that in order for Moses Lake to grow, it's the industrial engine … and we're really trying to develop that industrial engine," Anderson said, noting the community has learned from experience that one of the things necessary for industries is good transportation systems. "Rail is one of those that's especially important for the larger, heavy industrial-type industries."

While some may want to see some of the existing old rail line through downtown Moses Lake abandoned, and turned into a bicycle path — as new line would support and pick up new industrial property in the port and along the Wheeler corridor — Anderson noted some industries with legitimate railroad needs would be adversely impacted as a side effect.

"We recognize that these guys have legitimate transportation needs that need to be met somehow, so that is something that needs to be developed," he said. "And that will be one of the things that come out of the study, I'm sure."

With the estimate of at least two years left on the project, Anderson noted project organizers are not prepared to announce their next steps. An environmental study, determination of what property needs to be in place to have right of ways and determining the ownership and operation of the railroad are all part of what lies ahead, he said.

Not to mention determining where the money comes from.

"It's kind of a catch-22 — what we're missing is a big industry that's ready to come to Moses Lake if we have the railroad," he said, comparing it to the experience when Boeing was considering the city as a possible site for its 787 manufacturing plant. "If Boeing decided to come here, we would be building that railroad. But we don't have that industry in our back pocket right now."

Such a situation is known as a bird in the hand, Anderson said, adding the project feels it has more of a bird in the bush.

"From our experience in dealing with this for the last five or 10 years, we know there's industries out there, we know they need rail, we know they're looking at Moses Lake and everything that we have to offer," he said. "Nobody's signed any agreements saying, 'If you build a railroad, we will come,' or anything of that nature. It's really bird in the bush type operation. That makes it just a little difficult to compete with federal and state funding, unless you have legislators that can see the vision and are willing to help your community."