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Nine 100-year-old railway tunnels on the southern Oregon coast will be structurally improved as part of the final package of federal FAST Lane infrastructure grants.

The Port of Coos Bay will add $550,000 to $11 million in federal funding and $8 million in Oregon Lottery bonds to rehabilitate the tunnels along the 82-mile section of railway connecting Coquille and Eugene. The longest tunnel targeted for improvement is nearly a mile long. The tunnel rehabilitation project will also include drainage work along the line.

An information sheet provided by the port states much deferred maintenance existed when the port assumed ownership of the tunnels within the past 10 years. Several of the tunnels are reinforced by their original timber supports.

The FAST grant was requested by Rep. Peter DeFazio, the ranking democrat on the House Transportation Committee.

The FAST Lane infrastructure program was folded into a program called INFRA by President Donald Trump.

The work is expected to begin this quarter and conclude in two years.