Railroad struggles to find $1 million to rebuild crumpled Prosser trestle with steel

The future is unclear for a nearly 100-year-old train trestle that’s been called a critical link for Prosser area farmers to get their hops, grapes, milk and other products to market.

The trestle leading to the bridge that spans the Yakima River burned and collapsed in a fierce wildfire in September. It sits near Gibbon Road at Whitstran — four miles east of Prosser and 10 miles west of Benton City.

While the BNSF Railway owns the tracks, Central Washington Railroad leases it.

As the tenant, CWRR is responsible for all the repairs and maintenance, said Brig Temple, president of Central Washington Railroad.

CWRR’s insurance will pay to replace the trestle and bridge, but the railroad is looking at options for rebuilding the wooded structure with concrete and steel.

And insurance won’t cover the extra $800,000 to $1 million more than using lumber, said Temple.

As a privately owned property, the crumpled trestle is not eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief funding.

A Washington State Shortline Railroad Association news release sent out earlier this week incorrectly said that Gov. Jay Inslee’s office requested that the federal government declare the trestle and the bridge a major disaster in order to access funds to rebuild it.

While the state is seeking federal emergency funds for nine counties — including Franklin County — neither the trestle nor Benton County were included in the formal request for money.

The trestle was listed in the state’s declaration only as an example of the widespread fire damage, said Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department that oversees the state’s Emergency Management Division.

“A nearly 100-year-old railroad bridge was fully engulfed in flames and destroyed by one of the many rapidly moving wildfires. Firefighters were focused on saving lives and people’s homes and were not able to save the structure,” Inslee wrote at the time.

Temple told the Herald there are thousands of wood trestles and bridges throughout the state, but concrete and steel offer a more permanent solution against fires.

“These outages are costly to shippers and put more trucks onto the highway,” he said.

All types of freight was hauled over the bridge to and from Yakima and Benton counties, including 3,600 rail carloads through Prosser, Grandview, Sunnyside and Granger to the ports of Sunnyside, Grandview and Benton, said the railroad association.

That would equal about 14,500 more truckloads on the highways, it said.

The industries affected include the dairy, hops and grape industries, feed for many livestock operations, as well other agricultural and food processing and shipping operations, said the association.

“We are exploring all options for funding for the upgrade,” Temple said.

He said that CWRR is looking at grants and possible partners interested in the upgrade, but the railroad isn’t waiting. It is getting bids on what it will cost to rebuild it both ways.

The project is tentatively set to be complete by the end of April 2021.

“Soon we are going to have to make a decision and move forward,” he said.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-WA, met with railroad officials at the site of the burned down trestle Thursday afternoon.

He told the Herald he is working to help identify possible funding solutions on behalf of the railroad.

“It is an essential piece of infrastructure that is needed to ensure that our growers can get their high-quality products to our families in Washington and throughout the world,” he said.