CONNELL, Wash. — The Connell Rail Interchange Project will receive an additional $4 million after the approval of a 2024 Supplemental Transportation Budget.
The $19 million project includes $10 million in funding obtained by the Legislature in 2015 and an additional $5 million in the 2023 Legislative Session.
The $4 million approved in 2024 will cover costs for utility relocation and increased construction costs.
“The Connell Rail Interchange is a “key rail interchange in Eastern Washington where the Columbia Basin rail line intersects with BNSF Railway’s Lakeside Subdivision line, which runs between Spokane and Pasco, Wash. The Columbia Basin rail line goes through the heart of the Columbia Basin in eastern Washington and serves Moses Lake, Wheeler, Schrag, Warden, Othello, Royal City, Bruce, and Connell in Grant, Adams, and Franklin Counties,” the Connell Rail Interchange Coalition said.
The coalition said the Connell Rail Interchange was built nearly 100 years ago, and its configuration needs to be updated. This funding will upgrade and improve the interchange, allowing it to be more accommodable to the current and future growth in rail cargo.
“Over the past several years, a significant amount of economic development and growth has been occurring in communities on the Columbia Basin rail line, especially in Grant and Adams Counties. Consequently, the Columbia Basin rail line has become one of the busiest rail short lines in Washington State, hauling thousands of loads of various agricultural, industrial commodities and other cargo annually,” the coalition said.
