Port of Coos Bay receives $25 million in federal funding to support expansion planning

el oregoniano

The Port of Coos Bay landed $25 million in federal funding Wednesday to plan a possible expansion and what might someday be a large transportation facility.

The Port of Coos Bay is the largest coastal deep water shipping port between Seattle and San Francisco, and efforts have been underway to develop a larger facility that would be able to move freight using multiple modes of transportation.

Some public officials say the project could bring in all manner of imports to the Pacific Northwest and then the rest of North America. Boosters say it could bring as many as 8,000 jobs to southwest Oregon.

The $25 million in federal funds comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Congress passed in 2021. Building out the Coos Bay transportation hub could cost $2.3 billion, according to the Port of Coos Bay.

It’s unclear where that money would come from or how long it might take to secure. Coos Bay has been pursuing a port expansion for many years.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said the project has the long-term potential to bolster the regional economy and would “help address bottlenecks in the national supply chain, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.”

Merkley added that the funding would help make the Port of Coos Bay become “the first fully ship-to-rail port facility on the West Coast and is a testament to the power of collaboration and never giving up—the Oregon Way.”