Massive intermodal industrial centers for transferring cargo obviously have a huge numbers of trucks and trains. This one will be no exception. A representative for NorthPoint indicated there could be 4,000 vehicles a day on our rural country roads -- roads that have only 2 lanes and are narrow, with virtually no shoulders in most places.
This estimate is similar to a traffic study done years ago when a previous owner planned for a much smaller warehousing facility on the site. The estimate back in 2006 was 3,751 vehicle trips a day just on Maytown Road. This didn't include any other industry that would be there. Clearly a much larger facility such as the one planned by NorthPoint would have much more traffic. Areas with similar sized facilities as the one proposed are seeing as many as 25,000 trips per day after being established. Thurston County tax payers will be paying for repair, expansion, and maintenance of roads that were not designed for so much heavy truck traffic. And traffic would be day and night.
For those that live in the vicinity it would likely mean it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to make a turn on to or off of Maytown and Tilley Roads to local side streets. The anticipated traffic is well beyond the capacity of a single two lane road. It would likely be years before necessary street lights, stop signs, and turn lanes were installed just to make the roads accessible to local residents.
For the rest of the county, when I5 backs up on a weekly basis thousands of truck will likely take alternate routes through neighborhoods and side streets, however they can get to their destination the fastest.
An increase in traffic volume leads, of course, to an increase in accidents, especially since many independent truckers are paid by the load making speed very important. Logistics centers across the country have seen traffic fatalities increase at alarming rates.
Trains: A rarely used railroad track runs through the property and is being prepared for use. As more and more trains proceed to the site, nearby roads will be blocked during crossings, but far worse, blocked for long periods of time during loading/unloading. The congestion would get much worse, and emergency vehicles would be unable to respond in a timely manner.
For a look at another community's fight against a similar massive NorthPoint development and to get an idea what this project is likely to bring take a look at www.no2northpoint.com.
For a detailed look at another community's struggle with a train serviced distribution center combined with nearby retail warehousing (Hawks Prairie) and cost to the taxpayers read this very insightful article in the New Republic.