Clark County Freight System Plan

The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) is developing a Clark County Freight System Plan to guide the future of freight transportation across the region.

Freight plays a critical role in Clark County’s economy—moving goods, supporting local industries, creating jobs, and connecting communities to regional, national, and global markets. As the region continues to grow, a safe, efficient, and resilient freight system will be essential to maintaining economic competitiveness and supporting quality of life.

The Freight System Plan will build upon the findings of the 2025 Freight Mobility Study and identify strategies, policies, and investments needed to strengthen the movement of goods across Clark County.

Status: In development

Study Area: Clark County, Washington

Lead Agency: Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC)

Timeline: 2026–2027

Focus Areas: Truck, rail, river, and air freight systems

Goal: Develop a safe, resilient, efficient, and sustainable multimodal freight system that supports the regional economy and connects local industries to national and global markets.

In 2024, RTC initiated an update ot the 2010 Clark County Freight Mobility Study, to better understand how freight movement has changed over the past decade and identify emerging challenges and opportunities.Since completion of the 2010 study, Clark County’s transportation system has experienced increasing demands from population growth, economic development, increased imports and exports, and growing through-travel movements. A renewed evaluation of the county’s freight system—including infrastructure needs, freight movement trends, and regional economic shifts—was needed to identify opportunities that improve freight mobility and support the movement of goods, jobs, and services throughout the region.

Completed in 2025, the Freight Mobility Study established a baseline understanding of existing and future freight conditions in Clark County. The study included:

• • Analysis of freight demand, commodity flows, and freight movement trends.
  • Assessment of key freight corridors and infrastructure needs.
  • Review of freight safety trends and challenges.
  • Evaluation of the role of freight-dependent industries, including agriculture, forestry, construction, and manufacturing.
  • Analysis of socioeconomic and economic trends shaping future freight demand.

The study focused primarily on truck freight while recognizing the important role of rail, river, and air systems in supporting a connected multimodal freight network.

Download the 2025 Freight Mobility Study

Building on the Freight Mobility Study, RTC is now developing a Clark County Freight System Plan to identify strategies that will support a safe, reliable, and resilient freight network over the next 20 years.

The plan will examine current and emerging freight trends, identify challenges and opportunities affecting goods movement, and recommend strategies to:

• • Improve freight safety and reliability.
  • Address bottlenecks and system constraints.
  • Strengthen multimodal freight connections across roadway, rail, river, and air systems.
  • Improve first- and last-mile freight connectivity.
  • Support economic growth while reducing impacts on communities and the environment.

In spring 2026, RTC convened a stakeholder workshop with industry representatives, agency partners, and freight experts to establish a shared vision and identify the key challenges and opportunities that will guide development of the Freight System Plan.

Through this collaborative process, stakeholders identified the following:

Need: Clark County is experiencing continued growth in population, industry, and goods movement, placing increasing demands on the freight network. Existing constraints—including bottlenecks, first- and last-mile gaps, and system inefficiencies—limit reliability, economic competitiveness, and community livability.

The Freight System Plan will prepare the region for future growth and economic vitality by identifying and prioritizing investments, policies, and operational strategies that address system deficiencies and capacity constraints, improve reliability and travel-time predictability, enhance multimodal connectivity, and reduce negative impacts on communities and the environment.

Purpose: The purpose of the Clark County Freight System Plan is to strengthen multimodal freight connectivity across rail, roadway, river, and air systems—ensuring the efficient and reliable movement of goods while supporting regional commerce, thriving communities, and overall quality of life.

Vision: Clark County will have a safe, resilient, efficient, and sustainable multimodal freight system that reliably moves goods, strengthens the regional economy, and seamlessly connects local industries to national and global markets.

RTC will begin the next phase of work by selecting a consultant team to support development of the Freight System Plan. Over the coming year, RTC will work with freight industry partners, agencies, and communities to identify priorities and develop strategies that will shape the future of freight mobility in Clark County.