Oregon DOT begins early review of transload facility plans

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is evaluating six "pre-proposals" from applicants interested in assisting the state in building two transload facilities.

The facilities would be designed to improve shipping conditions in the state. One facility would be developed in the Treasure Valley area and the other in the mid-Willamette Valley, ODOT officials said in a press release.

A team of ODOT and Business Oregon members is expected to complete an initial review of the applicants later this month. Business Oregon is the state's economic development agency.

"We'll look for things like, do they have an organizational structure that's viable? Do they have experience in delivering a complex, multimodal project?" said Erik Havig, planning section manager at ODOT. "Most importantly, do they have local support and the support of the partner railroad?"

After the initial review, the team will send recommendations to ODOT Direct Matt Garrett for consideration. After that, the applicants will be invited to submit a project plan.

The Treasure Valley and mid-Willamette Valley transload projects  — along with intermodal projects involving rail expansions in Brooks and at the Port of Morrow — are part of HB 2017, the 2017 Oregon Legislature's transportation funding package. The pre-proposals are available on ODOT's Connect Oregon website.