The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded a $1.3 million grant this week to Oregon to help complete track improvements in north Portland’s Peninsula Junction.
The money will be put toward re-aligning tracks and upgrading railroad switches along one of the busiest railroad convergence points in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. The project has been ongoing since 2009, and the Oregon DOT, along with Pacific Union, believe at its end $18 million will be invested in it. The ending hope is that improvements will curtail congestion and delays along the network and surrounding roads.
USDOT funds were pulled from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program, a part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The program, created in 2016, is managed by the Federal Railroad Administration in support of various safety enhancements and rail improvements throughout the United States.