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For Immediate Release

Rail project requires brief closure at Sixth Street underpass

January 24, 2008 -- VANCOUVER, Wash.-Sixth Street in downtown Vancouver, between the BNSF Railway underpass and Jefferson, will be temporarily closed beginning Monday, Jan. 28, for construction related to the Port of Vancouver’s West Vancouver Freight Access rail project. Traffic can continue to reach south downtown blocks east of Jefferson by using Eighth Street.

Port contractors will be relocating a sewer line that runs under Sixth Street in preparation for building a new rail line into the port. Construction began this month on Schedule 1A of the project south of the BNSF rail berm and west of I-5. The Sixth Street closure is expected to last about two weeks.

The new alignment will improve access for freight trains serving the port while reducing congestion on the national rail network where it runs through Vancouver. The port has allocated $13.7 million for Schedule One construction, which will build the rail line from roughly Columbia Boulevard west to LaFarge cement and Albina Asphalt.

The project will also facilitate redevelopment of a long-dormant stretch of the Columbia River waterfront by eliminating a rail spur that bisects the former Boise Cascade industrial site.  Based on the Vancouver City Center Vision Plan, a group of private investors envisions transforming the Boise land into an urban neighborhood of condominiums, waterfront retail and restaurants, office space and possibly a new hotel.

In addition, the port’s project will contribute to a related rail project by the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Moving the port’s current rail crossing will enable WSDOT’s upcoming $110 million Vancouver Bypass passenger rail line to flow more freely through this congested area.

At A Glance
Who: Port of Vancouver USA
What: Temporary road closure at Sixth Street underpass due to construction
When: January 28, 2008
Quick Facts: The road will be closed near the rail trestle over Sixth Street in downtown Vancouver for approximately two weeks due to construction of the West Vancouver Freight Access Project