Project Title & Location
Wheeler to Soap Lake Rail Line Engineering

Project Description
The first phase of this project will explore the feasibility and costs of several rail improvements intended to support economic development in the Moses Lake area.

Contractor/Consultant
BNSF Railway, Fort Worth, Texas

Recent Progress

This project originally provided $2 million for pre-construction engineering to examine restoration of an abandoned rail line and construction of new alignments, between the BNSF main line in the vicinity of Soap Lake and the Columbia Basin Railroad at Wheeler, with a connection to the Port of Moses Lake.  The Port of Moses Lake is currently served by the Columbia Basin Railroad via a indirect route made up of parts of three separate railroads.  The route also passes through the city of Moses Lake over several at-grade crossings including SR 17 and along the lake.

While local intersts sponsored a brief study of the feasibility of relocating rail service, no true project scope was developed.  WSDOT met with port representatives, as well as State Legislators Mulliken, Holmquist, and Hinkle, on steps to develop a scope.  WSDOT then embarked on a $270,000 review of the proposed project that include updated cost estimates for the various proposed segments, shipper surveys, an economic analysis of the proposed segments, a review of the role of the federal government, and a summary of the environmental process that will need to be completed before construction can begin.  This report was completed in February 2006 and as a result, a meeting will be setup for mid-April to discuss the project and study findings.

Working with the 2006 state legislature, the project has been renamed the Northern Columbia Basin Railroad Project.  Using the remaining $1.7 million, the legislature has directed WSDOT to continue working with the Port of Moses Lake and the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) to complete the environmental documents that will be required before the federal governement will allow the project (or any part of it) to proceed to construction.

Design Construction Impacts

The project does not include any construction at this time.  The next phase of the project will focus on the completion of environmental documents.

Environmental Impacts / Compliance

WSDOT, the Port of Moses Lake, and the federal STB will complete a thorough review of environmental impacts before any construction takes place.

Impacts to Traffic

The next phase of the project will have no impact on rail operations or roadway traffic.

Planned vs. Actual Expenditures
(Total Project Cost)

Nickel funds included in above costs

2005 Transportation Partnership Account