To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Works
Agenda Section: Departmental
SUBJECT:
title
Support Letter for Proposed Railbanking of North Coast Railroad Authority Line within Humboldt County
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive a staff report and public comment; and
2. Approve, and authorize the Chair of the Board to sign, the attached letter supporting preservation of the North Coast Railroad Authority's railroad right-of-way through railbanking for interim trail use and subject to possible future reconstruction and reactivation of the right-of-way for rail service.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Bicycles and Trailways Program (1710715)
DISCUSSION:
This item contains a support letter (Attachment 1) for the North Coast Railroad Authority's ("NCRA's") proposal to railbank the railroad right-of-way from Willits to Samoa for interim trail use and potential future reactivation for continued rail service. NCRA intends to submit a railbanking application to the Surface Transportation Board ("STB") on or around May 14, 2021.
Background
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad incorporated as a private company in 1907 with the goal of establishing a continuous railroad connection between the San Francisco Bay and Humboldt Bay regions for freight and passenger service. This connection was completed in 1914. In Humboldt County, the railroad line runs along the Eel River from Alderpoint to Loleta and around Humboldt Bay through Eureka to Samoa (Attachment 2). Following a series of transactions and bankruptcies by private owners, the California legislature formed the NCRA in 1989 in an effort to preserve rail service. NCRA acquired ownership of the railroad line from Willits to Samoa in 1992. Trains operated intermittently until 1998, when heavy rains and landslides caused significant damage to the rail corridor within the Eel River canyon and the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency embargo barring ope...
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