Port of Bellingham gets $17.9M grant to reconnect the shipping terminal to rail

Bellingham Shipping Terminal. (Credit: Port of Bellingham)

The Port of Bellingham, Wash., recently announced that it has secured a $17.9 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The grant will be used to reconnect the Bellingham Shipping Terminal to the BNSF main line, restoring the terminal to full multimodal functionality.

The new rail connection will create jobs, reduce carbon emissions, and keep supply chains and the economy moving forward by allowing the efficient transportation of marine cargo on over 32,500 miles of track in 28 states and three Canadian provinces. Ship-to-rail cargo is a highly efficient, low-carbon method for transporting goods that removes trucks from the road, reduces congestion, and provides businesses with more reliable shipping options.

The Bellingham Shipping Terminal is one of only 11 deep-water ports in Washington. In 2022, Washington ports handled the import and export of 55.5 billion tons of non-containerized cargo such as automobiles, windmills and grain worth $36.5 billion. In Whatcom County, over 6,000 jobs are created or supported by marine trades representing 7% of the total workforce.  

The new rail connection will help fully reactivate the terminal and complement an ongoing $27.5 million Port modernization project to remove historic contamination and increase navigation depth, strengthen the main dock for heavy cargo and equipment, and install a state-of-the-art storm water management system.

The new rail connection is expected to be in service by 2028. 

DOT awarded the grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program, which enables communities to carry out road, rail, transit and surface transportation projects with significant local or regional impact. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, created the RAISE program in 2009.