Northwest Aerospace News February | March 2019 Issue No. 7 | Page 54

Infrastructure Improvements and Early Successes
One of the biggest advantages of the PDA zone is its prime
location, which offers easy access to I-90 main rail lines
and the Spokane International Airport. Local officials have
long-envisioned a transload facility on the West Plains,
which would tie all three modes of transportation together
efficiently. These plans are now gaining traction with the
PDA in place. In 2018, the Washington legislature granted
$2 million to add a mile of rail track that will link the PDA
zone to the existing Geiger Spur rail line. By building a
transload facility along the rail line, shipments could be
easily transferred from truck to rail or vice versa. With its
close proximity to the airport, the facility would become a
vital logistics hub and a draw for new business.
A second infrastructure project will make improvements
to two I-90 exits/on-ramps as well as Geiger Boulevard, a
main thoroughfare along the PDA zone.
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
The $44.7 million project will deliver
long-lasting connectivity to the
developing industrial area.
The infrastructure investments have been and will con-
tinue to be aimed at developing shovel-ready sites. This
readiness means that within months of starting the process,
a company can start construction. In other locations this
same process can take years.
Early efforts have paid off as retail giant, Amazon, selected
the West Plains site for a $181 million fulfillment center
that will open in the fall of 2019. Four other businesses,
including a Fortune 500 company, have also signed agree-
ments for leases or land purchases.