Background Information Regarding The

Brooks Intermodal and Transload Facility

On September 27, 2018, the Oregon Port of Willamette, LLC, filed a 540-page proposal with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), outlining plans for development of an intermodal and transload facility in Brooks, Oregon. 

The intermodal facility will allow importers and exporters to use rail to carry freight containers into the Willamette Valley, or out of the Willamette Valley, instead of shipping products by truck through Portland. The Oregon Legislature passed legislation in 2017, appropriating $25 million to initiate establishment of an intermodal facility in the Mid-Willamette Valley. The intention was to reduce the amount of trucks carrying freight to and from the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, through Portland, by having such freight shipped by rail, largely in containers. The project will also allow businesses to send and receive products by rail to and from the interior of the United States.

Intermodal facilities are set up so that freight containers can be trucked in and placed on rail cars or brought in on rail cars to be placed on trucks for local delivery.

The proposed facility for Brooks consists of about 205 acres of land. The facility will be North of Antique Powerland and will extend along the East side of the Portland & Western Railroad main line, which runs North and South through Brooks. The facility will have an entry road running from Brooklake Road into the facility, along the Western edge of the Antique Powerland property. 

Renderings of the facility are included at the end of this presentation.

The first phase of the project will include construction of at least 5,000 feet of rail line so that trains may enter the facility, discharge their cargo, receive fresh cargo, and depart, all via switches to connect with the main line. The rail yard is designed so that its operation will not interfere with the flow of train traffic along the main line, which is especially important in consideration of future planning for passenger rail on the Portland & Western Railroad.

Kevin R. Haugh, Vice President-Operations for the Portland & Western Railroad, has written a letter of support to Kevin Mannix and Connor Harrington. Mannix is the Executive Director of the Oregon Port of Willamette (OPW) and Director of the Oregon Shipping Group. Harrington is the Deputy Director of the Oregon Shipping Group, which is the facilitator for OPW project. In his support letter, Mr. Haugh notes the willingness of OPW to work with railroad staff so as to design a facility which is efficient and effective, and to plan for operational needs of a successful facility, including train schedules and factors to apply in determining appropriate rates. Mr. Haugh adds: “…your consulting team have impressed us with your view of this facility as being part of  a transportation network to enhance the capability of Oregon businesses and farmers to move their freight by rail, thereby reducing congestion on the highways, reducing CO2 emissions and making more efficient use of fossil fuels.” 

Mr. Haugh indicates that the Portland & Western Railroad has worked with OPW “to develop plans for the PNWR to be able to provide connections to Class I railroads not only to Seattle and Tacoma, but to the interior of the United States.” 

Mr. Haugh also states: “…we appreciate your ideas concerning using the PNWR to connect with the Coos Bay Rail Link so as to enhance the opportunity for the Port of Coos Bay to become a gateway port for Oregon and the Northwest, especially as to container shipping. “

Mr. Haugh notes the sensitivity of OPW to ensuring that its facility design “does not interfere with the capability to establish additional freight and passenger rail traffic for the future on the PNWR.” 

Finally, Mr. Haugh states: “… we see this working relationship as providing a strong basis for us to move forward with establishment and operation of the intermodal facility in Brooks …”

The Oregon Port of Willamette (OPW) is a limited liability company with Frank Salerno as the Managing Member and Kevin Mannix as Executive Director. All of the Members of the company are Oregonians and most of them are farmers.

OPW has included in its plans a proposal for the operation of the facility to be environmentally sound, with use of electric power or CNG to fuel equipment in the yard. OPW is consulting with PGE and NW Natural as to this potential.  OPW is also exploring the potential to do short haul trucking to and from the facility with hybrid or electric trucks. 

Senator Peter Courtney, a Democrat and President of the Oregon Senate, endorses the proposal in a September 9, 2018, letter, addressed to the Oregon Transportation Commission. Senator Courtney states: 

 “Brooks is the right choice for this site because it will serve farmers and businesses from all over the Willamette Valley and southern Portland. An efficient facility in Brooks will put freight on rail reducing the number of trucks passing through the Portland Metro area.”

The Republican leader of the Oregon Senate, Senator Jackie Winters, also endorses the proposal for Brooks, noting: “The Brooks facility will be an important part of … Salem area economic development, but the most important element of this project is the support it will provide to farmers throughout the Willamette Valley.”

The plan packet delivered by OPW includes endorsement letters from other legislators, as well as endorsements by Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett, Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark, and Gervais Mayor Shanti Platt.

Mayor Bennett indicates that he “enthusiastically” endorses the Willamette OPW plan for Brooks and notes that he was “impressed by the visionary approach the Oregon Port of Willamette’s leadership has taken in looking at the Brooks intermodal facility as the heart of a transportation network, for freight, throughout the Willamette Valley, running from Eugene all the way up to the southern parts of Portland.”

Keizer’s Mayor Clark notes that she “strongly” supports the proposal for Brooks. She praised the proposal as “a visionary plan” and notes that the facility “will serve as the heart of a freight system which will strongly reduce CO2, emissions, fossil fuel use, and congestion in the Portland area.” 

Gervais Mayor Platt also indicates that she “strongly” supports the proposal by OPW and adds: “I especially appreciate the fact that the leadership of the Oregon Port of Willamette is reaching out to communities throughout the area to make sure that their plans are understood. They also want to make sure that they receive important input from all sectors of society so as to make sure that their freight transportation proposal is supportive of good community development in the Brooks region.”

State Representative Brian Clem, generally recognized as a leading Democrat advocate for agriculture, and Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture during the 2017 legislation session, wrote a letter of support in which he states:  “I know that the Oregon Port of Willamette, led by Kevin Mannix as Executive Director, will make excellent use of the state grant funds in providing Oregon with a facility which will not only serve the Willamette Valley but will make Oregon proud because of its demonstrated commitment to positive environment considerations.”

Major businesses in the Brooks area have provided letters of support for the OPW proposal.  These businesses include COVANTA, which operates the waste to energy facility in Brooks; May Trucking Co.; Agri-Plas; Marion Resource Recovery Facility; and Quality Trading, composed of 32 family farm members. 

Shawn Campbell, President and CEO of NORPAC, strongly endorses the OPW proposal.  In his letter of support, he comments: “NORPAC has worked with the Oregon Shipping Group regarding transportation issues affecting Oregon businesses.  In this process, we have been impressed with the quality and strength of the work of this group.”  Mr. Campbell notes that NORPAC has over 200 members in its cooperative, and many of them, along with NORPAC, “will want to make use of the Brooks facility so as to maintain reliable and efficient shipping services which are cost-effective, not only to selected west coast ports, but also the potential rail shipping, including shipping of refrigerated units, to the interior of the United States.”

Another farm organization, the Oregon Grass Seed Bargaining Association (OGSBA), with 159 farm members and 12 associate members, endorses the OPW proposal for Brooks.  Mark Simmons, Executive Director of OGSA, reported that the group “are very supportive.”

The Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates (AORTA) is a citizen advocacy group for safe, fiscally responsible, and environmentally sound transportation.  John Nuxoll, president of AORTA, reports that AORTA believes that the OPW facility in Brooks “is a proposal of statewide significance and we endorse this as the preferred project for this round of ConnectOregon funding …”  Mr. Nuxoll notes: “The Brooks project can expand passenger service, with the opportunity to expand Westside Express Service from Wilsonville to Salem; it will increase overall freight mobility; it will reduce highway and freeway congestion; and it will reduce emissions.”

Robert Krebs is retired from his position as ODOT Passenger Rail Coordinator.  Krebs notes, in his personal capacity, that the Brooks facility “would serve shippers from the entire valley including Marion and Polk Counties, which are major producers of agricultural products.  A more southern location would require a back haul for many shippers.”

The team which put together the proposal for the Brooks facility includes 27 experts in a variety of roles.  These experts provided comprehensive input as to development of shipping terminals, maritime marketing, trucking operations, rail operations, intermodal facilities in other states, environmental considerations, business operations, marketing, data analysis, rail project financing, economic opportunity analysis, transportation design, rail design, land use, construction plans and costs, railroad operations, real estate development, transload design, and communications. 

The actual facility planning and construction work is led by Kelly Amador, Senior Project Manager for David Evans & Associates.  Construction design and cost analysis is provided by Brodie Harvey, Project Manager for Knife River Corporation, and Loren later, Vice-President for Knife River Corporation.  As part of project planning, OPW reports Raimore Construction, a DBE certified construction contractor, is prepared to work with Knife River as to construction of this project. 

The Brooks Community Group, a new non-profit which advocates for the Brooks community, with over 50 business and resident members, is led by Kathy LeCompte as Chair and Veronica Murray as Vice-Chair. In a letter in support of the OPW plan, LeCompte and Murray report that Brooks Community Group held three public meetings, open to all businesses and residents of the community, to hear presentations about the development of plans for the Brooks facility. LeCompte and Murray indicate that they “strongly endorsed the planned establishment of the intermodal facility in Brooks by the Oregon Port of Willamette.” 

Antique Powerland, which contains 14 museums and is physically located just south of the planned intermodal facility, endorses the project. 

Julie Huckestein, President of Chemeketa Community College, and Neva J. Huthinson, Board Chair, note that a range of training opportunities could be provided at the Brooks campus of Chemeketa Community College, and state: “The college is excited about the possibility of having the facility located in our district and looks forward to our state improving the transportation needs of business and industry.” 

Kevin Mannix reports that the OPW proposal includes consideration of the current need for transportation improvements in the Brooks area. “These are improvements that are needed regardless of the development of an intermodal and transload facility, but these improvements will make the facility even more effective.” Related projects include creating right and left lanes on the I-5 exit ramps onto Brooklake Road, with traffic signals at the top of the ramps; widening Brooklake Road to at least include a center left-turn late; and installation of a traffic signal and turn lanes at the intersection of Brooklake Road and River Road.

“There are other improvements which Brooks needs, and we will support these,” Mannix adds. “These include establishment of a waste water treatment system for the community, and establishment of an additional community center and park. While these facilities are not directly part of our work, we will serve as a catalyst for such community improvements.”

The Marion County Commissioners have indicated their support for an intermodal facility in the Mid-Willamette Valley.  Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson adds her opinion: “I believe that the Brooks project in Marion County is the best answer to provide the Willamette Valley with an efficient, economical, and productive transportation facility.” She writes:

“The Brooks facility will assist regional economic development efforts within the agricultural and natural resources sector. It will also reduce the transportation costs and congestion. Such a facility will also directly assist with enhancing job growth by facilitating shipping needs for agricultural goods, increasing the economic resiliency of local businesses, and by providing a more efficient option for transporting recyclables.” 

Mannix summed up the work of the Oregon Port of Willamette Brooks proposal as follows:

“The Oregon Legislature gave us a mandate to come up with a plan which will meet the needs of Willamette Valley farmers and businesses, while also reducing highway congestion, CO2 emissions, and fossil fuel use. They asked us to come up with a business plan which is workable, and which has the support of the local community. They asked us to make sure that the intermodal and transload facility will be cost-effective from a business perspective. We believe we have met all of the standards set by the state. In fact, we believe we have exceeded these standards.”

Mannix added: “We look forward to working with the Portland & Western Railroad to help make sure that businesses in the Willamette Valley are better connected to the Union Pacific and BNSF railroads as they move products to and from their markets.”