POV-111915-Engineers-webThirty-one members of the Southwest Washington branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) attended a special program Nov. 19 to learn more about and take a tour of the Port of Vancouver USA’s West Vancouver Freight Access Project (WVFA).

At $275 million, WVFA is the largest capital project in the port’s history. Its magnitude led ASCE to approach the port about arranging the Nov. 19 tour, which covered everything from concept to design and benefits of this significant infrastructure investment.

WVFA Project Manager and Professional Engineer Greg Westrand focused his presentation on three aspects: creation of a new rail entrance into the port; the 1,350-foot-long concrete rail “trench”; and the removal of eight grain silos to allow direct rail access to the port’s main terminal. The engineers heard detailed information on how the new rail entrance has improved rail efficiency by up to 40 percent, saw slides of the 410 pilings that secure the trench to the Columbia River bank, and learned how specialized equipment removed the 120-foot-tall grain silos.

After Greg’s presentation, the group set out on a bus tour of the project with Project Delivery Manager Alan Hargrave.

ASCE members said they were very appreciative port staff took the time to explain the details of this impressive project.