Tuesday, October 19, 2004 (Washington, DC) Oregon’s Port of Umatilla in the northern part of the state has been awarded a $2,781,800 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to replace a gantry crane in use since World War II, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced today.

“This investment in the port is needed to handle the increasing freight volumes resulting from a rebounding American economy,” said Mineta. “A new crane means a quicker and more efficient movement of the region’s agricultural products to the international marketplace,” he added.

The port primarily handles value added agricultural products such as alfalfa, dried grains, and frozen beef, vegetables and potatoes. The crane is used to transfer containers from dockside storage to waiting barges.

“The existing 64-year old crane is obsolete and prone to failure,” Mineta said. “It puts the port at a competitive disadvantage because there are few qualified operators and replacement parts are difficult to find,” he said.

The port is located on the Columbia River almost 300 miles inland from Astoria. It operates as a container-on-barge intermodal freight facility with both rail and highway access.

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