The Port of Coos Bay has received a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which supporters are hailing as an important step in a larger plan to turn the port into a major agricultural container terminal.

An export facility in Coos Bay would provide farmers and processors with an attractive option for shipping their products abroad. It’s a great idea, and we support it. But, it has a long way to go before it becomes a reality.

The Port of Coos Bay is the largest deepwater port between San Francisco and Portland. It operates its own short line railway, connecting with the Union Pacific mainline near Eugene.

The port traces its origins as a commercial port to the 1880s. Over the years it became a major shipping terminal for Oregon logs and processed lumber. Port supporters say that the facility could be so much more.

They point to three advantages in the port’s favor.

The first is geography. Coos Bay is situated directly on the Pacific Ocean. The Port of Portland, on the other hand, is 100 miles up the Columbia River from the ocean. A 43-foot deep, 600-foot wide channel has to be kept dredged the entire way. Even at that, the largest container ships can’t make the trip up river.

The second is the port’s short line railroad. Without that direct connection to the mainline, the port would be accessible from the Willamette Valley only by two-lane mountain roads.

The third is hundreds of acres of undeveloped land that can be used to construct the necessary facilities, and expand for years to come.

A Missouri-based firm called NorthPoint Development has a plan to develop a rail-served, deep-water port with a three-berth terminal. A berth is where vessels are secured when they’re not at sea.

Once it’s built, the facility could serve agricultural exporters nationwide and move more than 1 million 40-foot containers annually.

The proposal has widespread support from the agriculture community.

A major port closer to Southern Oregon and Northern California should reduce transportation expenses for ag operations, said Austin McClister, Oregon Farm Bureau director of communications.

“Increased capacity to export is going to play on the markets in a way that is only going to help our producers,” he said.

The plan also has support from Oregon’s congressional delegation.

But, now comes the hard parts.

The project could cost $2.3 billion or more. That’s a lot of money to nail down, and it will take a considerable effort to secure.

It will take five years to build, and will take another couple of years before ships come to call at the terminal. It’s difficult to forecast the changes in supply chains and shipping trends over the next decade.

Nonetheless, construction of a new port that can support robust traffic would be a positive development for ag producers in the Pacific Northwest.