COMMISSION APPROVES HEAVY HAUL CORRIDOR AGREEMENT
The Port of Tacoma Commission approved a request Jan. 6 for the Washington State Department of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the port and the City of Tacoma to identify, manage, and maintain a short Heavy Haul Industrial Corridor within Port district property.
The approval came eight months after Governor Christine Gregoire signed a bill enacting the corridor, which allows companies that transload cargo from rail boxcars into sealed ocean-going containers to legally operate on designated roads in the Port area.
According to Dick Dorsett, the port’s Government Affairs Manager, the decision Friday was a technicality designed to move the plan forward. “We never made that request formally, and this is mainly made to complete our files,” he said.
The Heavy Haul corridor allows companies that “transload” cargo from rail boxcars into sealed ocean-going containers and hauled by truck to legally operate on designated roads near the Port. Prior to the bill, vehicle weight often exceeded legal weight restrictions, and truck drivers were fined.
The Heavy Haul corridor encompasses the following areas: SR 509, from Taylor Way to East D Street; Taylor Way and a portion of Alexander Avenue, from TOTE Terminal to SR 509; Port of Tacoma Road; Marshall Avenue; Lincoln Avenue; Milwaukee Way; East 11th Street, from Port of Tacoma Road to Milwaukee Way; Portland Avenue, from Lincoln Avenue to East 11th Street; Portions of East D Street and East 15th Street.
JAN. 12 STUDY SESSION WILL FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALASKA
Port of Tacoma commissioners will meet Jan. 12 to hear an update on its Economic Development line of business, which is designed to create well-paying jobs that pay 15 percent more than the average wage in Washington State, expand the local economy and tax base, and promote Tacomas identity in the international trade community.
The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. in Room 104 of the Port Business Center, located at 3600 Port of Tacoma Road.
