COLFAX — Today, the Port of Whitman County was awarded $2.49 million from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) for the Port’s Rural Broadband Project. Grant funds will support the construction of dark fiber to approximately 109 unserved and underserved locations in Whitman County. 

The project, supported by $622,441 in local matching funds, will construct last-mile fiber infrastructure, and covers locations along Sunshine Road east of Pullman, along Kitzmiller Road north of Pullman, and west of Tekoa. The build outside of Tekoa will bring fiber to the Port of Whitman County’s Tekoa industrial site, which the Port acquired in 2023.  

“The Port is excited to partner with CERB on this broadband project,” said Kara Riebold, Port of Whitman County Executive Director. “This continues our efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural Whitman County. We know that reliable broadband is no longer a luxury but a necessity for economic growth and are grateful for CERB’s continued investment in broadband across Washington State.”

The Port anticipates the project will break ground in the summer of 2025 and be fully operational in December 2025.

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About the Port of Whitman County

The Port of Whitman County is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Whitman County through industrial real estate development, preservation of multi-modal transportation, facilitation of economic development and provision of on-water recreational opportunities.