By Pepper Fisher

CLALLAM COUNTY –  The new federal “Infrastructure Law” awarded funds to pay for six transportation projects in Clallam County this year totaling nearly $14.5 million.

Five of those were formula funding, based on a disbursement  system set by Congress; the sixth and largest was an $8.6 million competitive grant awarded to the Port of Port Angeles.

The smaller projects included the emergency funding that was used to repair Highway 112 at Clallam Bay and Jim Creek after last winter’s devastating storms and landslides there. A little over $1 million was awarded for the upcoming Elwha River Bridge replacement just west of Port Angeles. And Fairchild and Quillayute Airports both got sizeable infrastructure grants.

The $8.6 million grant to the Port of Port Angeles will help pay for upgrades or an expansion to their Intermodal Handling and Transfer Facility Improvements Project, which is basically a fancy name for the Log Yard and shipping operation. And while the Port hasn’t announced what exactly they plan to do with the funding, we reported last month that the Port recently paid a consulting firm to conduct a preliminary investigation into the social-economic benefits of the facility.

The Log Yard is the only industrial facility of its kind in Washington that is owned and operated by a Public Port and relies on barges to move timber to market.

The study found that the facility accounts for nearly 2500 jobs on the North Peninsula at an average wage of over $80,000 per year. Those jobs support an additional 3300 jobs at an average annual wage of $44,000.

The study also found that using barges instead of long-haul trucking eliminates an estimated 750,000 Truck Miles, resulting in considerably fewer truck accidents and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.