Humboldt Bay harbor, rail authorities to seek state bond funds

Humboldt Bay harbor, rail authorities to seek state bond funds Railroad and harbor officials in the Humboldt Bay region are considering a plan to request about $19 million in state bond money to reopen a Samoa-to-South Fork rail line and to mitigate shoaling problems in the Humboldt Bay entrance.
   In a draft version of their joint application to the state, the North Coast Railroad Authority and the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, said they are seeking $19 million in state transportation bond money to restore the viability of service on the northern end of the rail line, relieve area highway congestion and make transit into the bay safer and more efficient for vessels.
   The proposed $38 million plan will be funded half by the state transportation funds and half to be sought from the federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program.
   The NCRA is to consider the funding application issue on Wednesday. Authority officials expect opposition to the program from Humboldt Bay activists who want to see the rail line route converted to bike, pedestrian and other non-motorized uses.
   The rail authority is upgrading the southern end of the line that runs between Willis and Lombard, but the project has been stymied by a lawsuit brought by the city of Novato.
   According to the application, rail line operator Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co. hopes to generate up to 6,000 carloads of freight headed to Humboldt Bay barges annually. The application also claims that if fully implemented the rail project could remove the equivalent of 48,000 truck trips annually from the regions roads and highways.
   If the California Transportation Commission decides to fund the project, the NCRA will be required to present a business model showing that the rail line could generate the traffic volumes claimed in the application. NCRA officials said they have spoken with a number of possible shippers and preliminary indications are that the traffic volumes are available.
   The maritime portion of the proposed project, to be considered by the harbor authority this week, seeks to reduce shoaling in the Humboldt Bay entrance by either modifying the configuration of the entrance itself or by utilizing more intensive dredging. Sediment routinely clogs the entrance channel near the South Jetty and periods of frequent storms can exacerbate the problem. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers analysis of the problem devised 11 potential solutions, including options ranging from building an artificial reef to the construction of a sediment trap structure. The harbor portion of the overall project is expected to cost just over $8 million.
   If approval by the two authorities and state and federal funds are obtained, environmental impact documents on the overall rail and harbor project could begin by mid-year. If all aspects move forward as the authorities predict, the projects could begin construction by February 2009 with a scheduled completion date of March 2015.