Janet Matkin, communications, 360-705-7966
OLYMPIA - The Washington State Department of Transportation's high-speed rail construction program, funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is drawing to a close in December. During its seven-year duration, the program garnered widespread national attention from the Federal Railroad Administration, other state agencies, and transportation organizations from across the country for its innovative approaches to project delivery.
The program's most recent honor came from the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), which presented its prestigious 2017 Dr. William W. Hay Award jointly to WSDOT and BNSF Railway. This award recognizes achievements in delivering the multi-project $800 million program on time and on budget. Presenters noted work also had to be scheduled while freight and passenger trains continued to use the tracks. Requiring strong partnerships and strict scheduling, the 20 separate construction projects stretched between the Canadian border near Blaine and the Port of Vancouver USA in Southwest Washington.
"This was a complex undertaking and was only accomplished thanks to our positive working relationship with BNSF," said Ron Pate, director of the Rail, Freight and Ports Division. "We're honored to share this recognition and also very excited about what this work means for our Amtrak Cascades passengers."
The AREMA recognition is the seventh such award presented to the WSDOT high-speed rail program. Other national, state and local honors include:
"It's particularly gratifying to be recognized for several different aspects of our work – overall project delivery, public outreach, historic preservation, and environmental improvements. This team accomplished amazing feats, some publicly recognized and others more personally appreciated. Working together, we achieved great things," said Pate.
The high-speed construction projects were designed to address major choke points, improve safety on the rail lines, and enhance the passenger experience on Amtrak Cascades. Owned and managed by WSDOT and the Oregon Department of Transportation, Amtrak Cascades serves 18 stations from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon. In the Washington section of the corridor, the improvements will allow WSDOT to begin additional service on Dec. 18 that will: