STATE BUDGET INCLUDES $2.5 MILLION FOR WEST VANCOUVER FREIGHT ACCESS (6/1/07)

For Immediate Release

VANCOUVER, Wash. - The Port of Vancouver USA's West Vancouver Freight Access Project has been included in the Washington state budget, signed recently by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire in Olympia.

The $2.5 million included in the state's budget is a portion of the $10 million sought by the port, and will aid in the construction of the West Vancouver Freight Access Project, which will ease congestion cause by the access and egress of unit trains at the Port of Vancouver. The project is also budgeted in the newly-created Freight Congestion Relief Account, which has not yet been funded. The Legislative Joint Transportation Committee has been instructed to identify funding of the Freight Congestion Relief Account and report to the Legislature by December 1, 2007.

"Without the Governor's support, and the work done by all those who supported this effort, it is doubtful that our project would have been given the priority it was in the legislature this year," said Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson. "This is critical and timely acknowledgement of the project's importance to the state system and will bring continued momentum to this project."

Trains are currently entering and exiting the port on what is called the "Hill Track", which crosses the north-south main line owned by BNSF Rail Company. Each time a port train crosses the main line, it not only congests train traffic north and south of Vancouver - a key transfer point in the national railroad scheme - it also stops traffic on the BNSF east-west main line.

The West Vancouver Freight Access Project will allow more 100-car unit trains to enter and exit the port, and will allow for the development of the Columbia Gateway property. Existing and future Port of Vancouver tenants and customers will benefit from the improved access. Additionally, mainline rail capacity and velocity will be achieved through completion of the project.

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The Port of Vancouver USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

- POV -