Coalition forms to aid Port of Quincy

   The Port of Quincy is working with the state representatives who have formed the Great Northern Corridor Coalition in order to improve rail freight movements across the Great Northern Corridor.
   The representatives are from the states in the corridor, which spans the northern tier of the United States from the Puget Sound and the Lower Columbia River to Chicago through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 
   “The Great Northern Corridor Coalition is working to strengthen the corridor in order to promote economic growth for neighboring communities and accommodate the demand for safe, efficient and environmentally sound transportation services,” the group stated in a news release. 
   The collation has already started working on its first step, which is to conduct a “Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats” analysis in order to improve operations and infrastructure, it said. 
   Its second task will be using the SWOT results to create strategies and projects to improve multimodal transportation. 
   It stated that the SWOT analysis should be completed this fall, and initiatives would start immediately after results are found.
   Coalition partners include BNSF Railway, Idaho Transportation Department, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Montana Department of Transportation, North Dakota Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Transportation, Port of Everett, Port of Grays Harbor, Port of Longview, Port of Northern Montana, Port of Pasco, Port of Portland, Port of Quincy, Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, Port of Vancouver, Washington Public Ports Association, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.