Port of Seattle contributes to rail overpass project

The Pacific Northwest port is providing $595,000 to help build a $25 million bridge over a Union Pacific rail line in an effort to improve traffic between warehouses in Kent Valley, marine terminals in Seattle and Tacoma, and Sea-Tac Airport.    The Port of Seattle Commission on Tuesday agreed to provide $595,000 to help fund a highway overpass in Kent, Wash., in order to reduce congestion on a road used by truckers moving cargo between warehouses and the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma and Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport.
   The funds will go towards a 25 million project that will provide grade separation between South 228th Street and Union Pacific (UP) rail lines.
   The project is one of the last of 25 in the Freight Action Strategy for Seattle-Tacoma (FAST) Corridor Partnership program, which was established 1998 and has been pursuing funding for transportation improvements along the Puget Sound corridor between Everett and Tacoma.
   “In particular, this overpass completes a seamless truck connection between the forty million square feet of warehouse and industrial space in the Kent Valley, and Sea-Tac Airport and the Port of Seattle marine terminals,” the port said of the project. “Further, by reducing the time vehicles sit idling at a blocked rail crossing, the S. 228th Street overpass improves air quality.”
   The City of Kent is improving South 228th Street along a three-mile corridor, with a connection to Military Road and grade separations at the BNSF Railway Company and UP rail lines.
   The port said it entered into an agreement with the city in 2009 to contribute $1.19 million for BNSF and UP grade separation along the the corridor.
   The BNSF project was completed as planned, but after the 2008 economic downturn, the city delayed construction of the UP overpass to 2018-2019. Kent expects to complete final design this year and build the overpass in 2018-2019.
   “Grade separations like these are critical to remove traffic bottle necks, especially areas in the Kent Valley that handle the second largest freight and cargo volumes on the West Coast,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Stephanie Bowman.