WASHINGTON — A new Sound Transit light rail station and rail improvements at the Port of Benton in Richland, Wash., will receive more than $34 million in U.S. Department of Transportation grants, four members of the Washington State Democratic congressional delegation have announced.
They were among four projects receiving more than $56 million under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program.
The Graham Street light rail station will be an infill station, between the existing Columbia City and Othello stations in Seattle’s Hillman City neighborhood on Sound Transit’s Link Line 1. The project received a $25 million award.
“I’m thrilled to be bringing home $25 million—the maximum RAISE grant award—to support construction of the Graham Street Light Rail Station and open up new, convenient transit options for residents and commuters in Rainier Valley,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said in a press release.
The Port of Benton will receive $9.56 million for the facility’s Southern Connection industrial rail line, the port said. The grant will help fund replacement of 12,000 crossties, replacing track, ties and ballast on a 1-mile wye track, and upgrading 3 miles of track along elevated curves with heavier rail to accommodate longer unit trains.
“With these much-needed improvements, the track can return to Class 2 conditions, allowing train speeds to return to 25 mph,” Diahann Howard, the port’s executive director, said in a press release. “The increased speeds will reduce the time a unit train blocks an intersection from as much as 18 minutes to as little as four minutes. This reduction will shorten vehicle travel times and lessen the impact to fire and emergency vehicles, greatly improving public safety.”
Other projects include $19.5 million for a maintenance facility for Skagit Transit’s bus system, and $2 million to Lynden, Wash., for a flood control project for Pepin Creek.
