President Biden’s expansive infrastructure package includes funding to prevent landslides on our rail lines

Woodway landslide 1997 photo courtesy Dept of Ecology

On Wednesday, June 1, 2022 U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell announced $3.8 million in federal grants has been awarded to rail infrastructure projects in Western Washington to help prevent landslides.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will receive $3.8 million to fund the fourth phase of their rail landslide mitigation program, which will help reduce the risk of landslides on tracks between Everett and Seattle. 

These tracks are used by Amtrak Cascades, Amtrak’s Empire Builder, Sounder North, and BNSF freight trains and are subject to frequent landslides that bring the hillside down over the tracks.