Freight access project still in play at Washington state port

Performance Abatement Services Inc. continues to advance asbestos abatement work at Port Vancouver USA that's part of the West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project in Vancouver, Wash.

The work, which began Sept. 17, is necessary to demolish a malting drumhouse and nine silos for the port's expanding rail corridor, port officials said in a project update. Performance Abatement Services was hired as part of a larger safety plan to address asbestos and other issues surrounding the removal of a very old building, they said.

The contractor has finished interior abatement work involving the kiln offices, basement pipe insulation, wall mastic and floor tiles, and abatement of the asphalt roof on one port building. The entire project is slated for completion in July 2014.

The largest capital project in the port's 101-year history, the WVFA program was launched in 2007. To be completed by 2017, WVFA involves establishing new dual-carrier rail access into the port (via both BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad); enlarging a rail yard and building a loop track; relocating facilities and utilities to accommodate track realignment; and improving area roadways.