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Yesterday, the Port of Vancouver U.S.A.’s board approved a $2.5 million contract with Hamilton Construction Co. to conduct trench work for the West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project.

In August, Hamilton Construction will start drilling 276 steel piles to support a trench that will enable trains entering the Vancouver, Wash., port to travel underneath BNSF Railway Co.’s north-south mainline on the Columbia River rail bridge. The work will mark the first of three phrases of the port's planned $35 million rail trench project that’s slated for completion in 2015.

The rail trench work is part of the $137 million WVFA project, the largest capital project in the port's 100-year history that was launched in 2007. To be completed by 2017, the project calls for establishing new dual-carrier rail access into the port (via both BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad); enlarging the port's rail yard and building a loop track; relocating facilities and utilities to accommodate track realignment; and improving area roadways.

The project is designed to reduce congestion on the region’s rail system and triple the port’s rail capacity during the coming years to handle more cargo at a faster rate.