The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay has secured an $11.25 million federal grant to advance rail infrastructure for the proposed Pacific Coast Intermodal Port, adding to more than $100 million in state funding committed to the project earlier this year.

The U.S. Maritime Administration awarded the money through its Port Infrastructure Development Program. The port says the funds will pay for rail infrastructure improvements on the North Spit of Coos Bay, preparing the future terminal area for cargo movement and strengthening connections to the Coos Bay Rail Line, the short line that links the harbour to the national network.

The award continues a pattern of public investment in the project. Previous federal commitments came through the INFRA and CRISI grant programmes, which fund highway, bridge and rail infrastructure across the United States. Oregon's state government has separately committed $100 million to the scheme.

Port Commission President Kyle Stevens framed the award as recognition of rural Oregon's role in national freight flows. "This award sends a clear message that serious infrastructure in rural Oregon matters and that the South Coast has a real role to play in the state's economic future," Stevens said. "It reflects ongoing public support for practical investments that create jobs, expand opportunities for producers, and strengthen infrastructure with growing national significance."

The Pacific Coast Intermodal Port is a proposed ship-to-rail container terminal on Coos Bay's North Spit. Its backers position it as a new freight gateway on the U.S. West Coast, designed to add capacity to a port system they describe as increasingly constrained and to give shippers a further rail-connected route into inland markets. As with any project at this stage, these capacity claims rest on projections rather than measured results — the terminal has not yet been built.

One projected benefit concerns container repositioning. By routing imported containers through Coos Bay, the project's sponsors expect to improve local access to empty containers for agriculture producers, manufacturers and small businesses seeking export paths to global markets. No volume forecasts accompany the announcement.

Melissa Cribbins, executive director of the PCIP, described the grant as an incremental step in a long development process. "Large infrastructure projects move forward one step at a time, and this funding advances an important next phase," Cribbins said. "We remain focused on responsible planning, durable partnerships, and delivering measurable progress, and we are incredibly grateful to Oregon's federal delegation for their steadfast support of this effort."

NorthPoint Development, the project's private-sector partner, echoed the long-horizon view. "We continue to see strong long-term market potential in Coos Bay and confidence in the logistics advantages this location offers," said Chad Meyer, the company's president. "As global trade patterns continue to evolve, resilient transportation infrastructure becomes increasingly important. PCIP helps create the additional capacity, flexibility, and routing options needed for an ever-changing world."

The grant funds site preparation and rail connectivity rather than terminal construction itself. A construction timeline, cost estimate for the full terminal and traffic projections have not been disclosed in the announcement. The port has not yet named an operator for the planned terminal or detailed the service pattern envisaged on the Coos Bay Rail Line once container trains begin running.

With federal PIDP money, prior INFRA and CRISI awards, a $100 million state commitment and a private development partner in place, the project's sponsors say they will continue phased planning and design work toward a new West Coast container gateway on Oregon's South Coast.