Did You Know?

Tallest Suspension Bridge: 

In January 2012, Mexico’s Baluarte Bridge opened and was officially classified as the world’s tallest suspension bridge.  At 1,300 feet high and 0.74 miles long, the bridge is part of the Mazatlan-Durango Highway, a route that crosses the Western Sierra Madre Mountains.  

With the opening of the bridge and the entire highway, freight unloaded at western Mexican ports will have an expedited route to Texas and the interior parts of the U.S.  Some logistics experts predict this route will compete with the all water route from Asia to the U.S. via the Panama Canal.

Obama signs highway bill

President Obama signed a $105 billion transportation bill on July 6, bringing to an end a three-year fight over road and transit spending. The bill signing capped a day that began with an unemployment report showing the U.S. economy had added only 80,000 jobs in June, leaving the national unemployment rate unchanged at 8.2 percent.

EGT’s Design and Efficiency Touted at Opening Ceremonies

Agricultural exports, such as grain shipments moving through the new EGT terminal in Longview, Washington, are leading the economic recovery, the chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on July 9. 

Union Pacific turns 150

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) has been marking the occasion all year, and now it’s official. On July 1, the Class I turned 150 years old.

Panama Canal Completes Building First Pacific Lock Section

The contracting group that is building the new set of locks at the Panama Canal completed the first monolith of the new locks on the Pacific end of the canal. 

Report: Northwest Export Coal Boom Could Raise Intermodal Rates

Bold plans to boost coal export to Asia through Northwest ports will likely slow intermodal and grain shipments, resulting in higher freight rates and equipment costs, according to a new study commissioned by a conservation group.