SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane International Airport has received an $11.3-million grant to build a rail transload facility with the goal of attracting aerospace and other industries.
The BUILD Grant — for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development — from the U.S. Department of Transportation will extend an BNSF Railway existing rail spur by 3 miles to a location near the airport, the Spokane Spokeman-Review reports, opening up 1,000 acres for development.
“It’s really the key piece of critical infrastructure for us to really begin to shape the entire area around the airport as an intermodal hub,” Larry Krauter, CEO of Spokane International Airport, told the newspaper.
Construction will begin next year and is projected to be completed by November 2021. The airport says the project could create up to 7,000 jobs, generate $77 million in tax revenue, and have a total economic impact of $773 million.
The rail line from Cheney to the airport area is owned by the State of Washington and operated by the Washington Eastern Railroad. The rail line currently ends west of the airport at a steel transload site.