Gov. Kate Brown laughs with Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist after today’s ribbon cutting.
The speeches have been made and the ribbon has been cut, and any day now the Mid-Willamette Valley Intermodal Center in Millersburg should start handling freight.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and about 200 others gathered this morning at the former site of a paper mill to dedicate the $35.5 million reloading center. They made or listened to speeches inside a tent, then stepped outside in the cold sunshine to watch a ceremonial ribbon being cut.
The truck-to-rail (or vice versa) loading center will allow valley farms and industries to transport goods to Northwest seaports via the Union Pacific railroad, saving time and money and taking trucks off Interstate 5.
Speakers included the governor and Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist. They thanked each other and many others for supporting the creation of the center.
Construction was funded with $23.5 million from the state and $12 million from Linn County. The county got involved in order to support the mid-valley economy, which suffered a severe hit when International Paper closed the mill and then razed it a decade ago.
Former state Rep. Andy Olson had the idea for turning the vacant mill site into a reloading center. He was instrumental in getting the legislature to include it in the 2017 transportation funding bill.
Olson did not attend the ceremony today. He’s in Arizona, the crowd was told.
Many details about the center are available online. Here’s a link.
Now that the grand opening is over, it’s not clear just when the actual reloading of freight will start. But I was told it would be soon. (hh)
Looks like there will be plenty of photos of the intermodal center’s grand opening ceremony.
Ceremonial containers and a mobile crane were displayed for the grand opening.
What does soon mean ?
If I knew I’d tell you.
Not MY governor!
Brown’s my Governor until Tina Kotek takes over .. and then she will be my Governor. Hopefully, retired Governor Kate Brown’s popularity will cause her to generate a series of powerful and entertaining NFT Digital Images which she will put on-line for just $99 each. Even if you’re a Brown Detractor, when you purchase one of the Kate Brown Digital Images for just $99, you will be automatically eligible to enter a drawing and maybe have Dinner With Kate Brown at her Lake Oswego digs.
Brown’s Digital Image Collection may start a trend. Who knows? In a few years we might begin to see an NFT Collection out of the Roger Nyquist Marketing Machine. Keep your eyes on this page.
Merry Very Merry Christmas, you truckers!! And that is all for now…
Oh this is spot on! Thank you Hartman!
IMO, the place looks unkept and unfinished. There was supposed to be nice landscaping across the entire front and a full-length walking path. Sold to us in planning meetings. What happened? No controls over truck traffic direction upon leaving the facility. I predict trucks bouncing between the facility and Love’s Truck Stop for services increasing the traffic load on Old Salem. As usual, the homeowners are of the least of concern to those in power.