The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Des Moines an $11.2 million BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) Transportation grant for a rail transload facility the city is planning in conjunction with the Des Moines Metropolitan Planning Organization. The transload facility, with an estimated construction cost of $15.2 million, would provide shippers with new options for shipping raw materials and other goods in and out of Central Iowa. “This is a great day for Central Iowa,” said Todd Ashby, director of the Des Moines MPO. “With this grant, the Des Moines Transload Facility will be fully operational more quickly – and deliver its significant economic impact sooner. I would like to thank the MPO staff; our project partners, including the city of Des Moines, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the Freight Roundtable; our congressional delegation; and the U.S. Department of Transportation. This is a huge win for the regional economy.” The planned facility adjacent to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway at 200 S.E. 15th St. will provide access to three major railroads — BNSF Railway Co., Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railway — as well as the regional Iowa Interstate Railroad. The MPO this week will consider two private companies’ bids for a contract to operate the facility, with a recommendation to go to the MPO Policy Committee in January. The federal award is part of $1.5 billion in discretionary grant funding announced today by the DOT to 91 transportation infrastructure projects in 49 states and the District of Columbia.