Arlington, Oregon
The Port of Arlington completes Marina upgrade project and installs new fuel dock. Port of Arlington Marina is located in Arlington, Oregon, on the Columbia River at river mile 241.3
Port of Arlington installs new fuel dock at Port of Arlington Marina, Arlington Oregon, located on the Columbia River at mile 241.3. The Port of Arlington can now serve both diesel and non-ethanol gasoline to boaters.
The fuel dock project has been on the Port’s books since 1978 when Leslie Grant was president of the Port of Arlington. There has been a huge void in the 100 mile stretch of river between The Dalles and Umatilla that had no fuel, often making boating journeys an anxiety filled adventure. Over the years since there have been many attempts at building a fuel dock in Arlington.
The project has been at the top of the project list for the US ARMY Corps, the Oregon State Marine Board, and the Fish and Wildlife Service too. In 2011, the Port began conducting boater surveys showing the need for a fuel dock. The survey results indicated that 93% of transient boaters visiting the Port’s marina needed either diesel or non-ethanol gasoline. Additionally, 90% of the boaters wanted shore power too. Yacht clubs up and down the river supported the project along with the City of Arlington, the Chamber of Arlington and Gilliam County.
A fuel dock project would be a big undertaking and requires the approval from many state and federal agencies not to mention the cost of building the facility itself. Finally, in May of 2012, Janine Belleque, Grants and Contracts coordinator for Oregon State Marine Board, thought the Port should apply for a Boating Infrastructure Grant. The Port’s Board then led by President Tim Wetherell concurred and told Port Manager Peter Mitchell to proceed with the application. The Port’s Board of commissioners included Tim Wetherell, Laura Pryor, Duane Johnson, Dewey Kennedy and Ron Wilson. With the Marine Board’s and Gilliam County’s assistance the Port successfully won the BIG grant award.
Current Port President, Ron Wilson, along with Commissioners Dewey Kennedy, Laura Pryor, Susan Jones, and Aaron Fitzsimmons unanimously approved awarding the construction contract to Anderson Environmental and Northwest Pump in October 2014. The awarding of the contract officially started the project’s construction, nearly 2-1/2 years after the Port applied for State and Federal grants.
Peter Mitchell, Arlington Port Manager, says “The role of the Marine Board in the project cannot be understated. The Oregon State Marine Board has been an outstanding and valuable partner in the project, without their assistance and support this project could not have been attempted let alone completed.” Mitchell was the project’s manager.
The project installed a new gangway, replacing two aging gangways, upgraded utilities to the transient moorage slips and of course added a new fuel dispenser. The dispensers provide diesel and high octane, non-ethanol, gasoline.
In addition the Port also installed 18 new slips to the marina by adding three 20’ and five 30’ fingers to their “B” and “C” docks along with a new pump out station. The fingers were manufactured by Bellingham Marine and installed by Axis Crane. The fuel dock, gangway, power pedestals and dispenser system were installed by Anderson Environmental Contractors. The gangway was manufactured by Topper Industries. Northwest Pump provided the Gilbarco fuel dispensers, fuel tank and fuel system components. Keco, Inc. USA manufactured the new pump out station. Boyles Electric was the primary subcontractor for the electrical components. Grand Ronde Petroleum completed startup operations and calibrations of the new Gilbarco dispenser equipment and Passport point of sale system. The project was substantially completed on May 19, 2015.
The Port of Arlington’s fuel dock is open Monday-Fridays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. – noon. The Arlington Marina is located directly across the Columbia River from Roosevelt.
