Shipping is the life blood of our economy. To our south in Southern California, and to our north in Western Washington, massive ports running nonstop offload containers from enormous ships and load them on rail or trucks so they can get those items to us and the rest of the nation.
But those ports in LA and Tacoma need additional help to efficiently move goods, and Coos Bay wants to become a major player in the shipping industry. Doing everything possible to secure what is known as a Mega Grant, the Port of Coos Bay is hoping to spend billions to become a strategic ally in the west coast container trade that brings so much of our goods to us.
If the project goes forward, port leadership and other proponents believe it could be a real gamechanger for our region. The project would take approximately five years and that could become a big boost in construction jobs. All told, they estimate the project would create 2,600 construction jobs over the five-year period and 2,500 direct and 6,900 indirect jobs for Coos, Douglas and Lane Counties once the facility is constructed. It is anticipated that approximately 2 million import and export containers will move through the Port of Coos Bay every year.
The new port will be the first fully ship-to-rail port facility on the U.S. West Coast, thereby removing trucks from the equation and providing additional port capacity without a corresponding increase in greenhouse gas emissions
Today on Oregon On the Record, you’re going to hear from leaders at the port as well as Oregon’s own Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Val Hoyle about their efforts to secure the funding necessary to transform Coos Bay into a major new shipping hub. And you’ll also hear from an environmental group who believes the plan to dredge the estuary and upgrade the port may transform the area into an environmental disaster.
Our guests on the show included:
· John Burns, CEO of the Port of Coos Bay
· Annie Merrill of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
· And Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Val Hoyle
For more information about the Port and information about the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, please visit the links below.
