PORT TOWNSEND — Talks between Port Townsend Paper Corp. officials and the Port of Port Townsend appear headed toward an expanded site proposal for the Hood Canal Bridge graving yard.
Port Executive Director Larry Crockett met Tuesday with Port Townsend Paper president John Begley to discuss site options, and Crockett said progress was made.
“It looks like sufficient acreage could be made available in conjunction with the Port’s property,” Crockett said after the meeting.
Talks came exactly one week from when the state Department of Transportation and Gov. Gary Locke pulled the project out of Port Angeles after thousands of Klallam ancestral remains and artifacts had been found on the 22.5-acre industrial waterfront site.
Port of Port Townsend commissioners, who support relocating the graving yard in Port Townsend, meet at 9 a.m. today in the Point Hudson Marina Room, 130 Hudson St., to discuss the prospect.
An industrially zoned site south of the mill is being looked at for use as part or all of the graving yard area.
“Port Townsend Paper is working with the Port of Port Townsend and the state to work on a proposal that could bring the graving yard project to Port Townsend,” Begley said in a written statement Tuesday.
“The Hood Canal Bridge is a vital transportation link for the company and as such its viability is a major concern for us.
“At this point, we have not developed any specific action items, we have just initiated our process in looking at how we can help in this project.”