FEBRUARY 2008: AROUND THE STATE
Port could lose rail line
TILLAMOOK
Before committing funds to repair the Port of Tillamook’s
massively damaged rail line, Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office
has asked the port and the area’s largest employers to
examine other ways of moving freight out of Tillamook
County.
There is no timeline for when the task force will present
options, but port director Robert Van Borssum stressed the
necessity for speed due to the mounting trucking costs being
borne by the Hampton, Stimson and Weyerhaeuser lumber mills and
the Tillamook Valley Nutrition Feed Mill.
The December storm caused an estimated $20 million in damage
to the rail line, and the port laid off 17 of its 21
employees. Alternatives to repairing the railroad could include
using coastal barging to move freight or building a new line to
connect the port to a line in Astoria.
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