A long-planned intermodal ramp in Wallula is expected to open early next year.

The newly formed company that’s reviving the project has signed a lease and purchase agreement with Union Pacific for the property on Railex Road off Highway 12, east of the Tri-Cities. The property includes the 210,000-square-foot former Cold Connect warehouse and about 64 acres of land.

Ted Prince, founder and chief executive officer of Tri-Cities Intermodal, the company behind the project’s revival, declined to detail the terms of the deal. But “let’s just say that we wouldn’t undertake (the lease) if we weren’t planning to buy it,” Prince said, noting that construction is expected to wrap up by the end of the year and the facility should be ready to open in January.

“It is fantastic to have a line of sight to actual operation within three to four months,” Prince added in a statement, saying that his company was fortunate to find “an investor with foresight” and have Union Pacific’s support. The investor is PNW Capital, led by James Delaney.

In the statement, Delaney called the intermodal ramp “a superb concept, bolstered by a highly capable team and situated within an exceptionally favorable business environment.”

“We are very excited to include Tri-Cities within our distinguished portfolio,” he added.

Kari Kirchhoefer, senior vice president of premium, marketing and sales for Union Pacific, said in the statement that the railroad is “excited about Tri-Cities Intermodal advancing an initiative that will remove thousands of trucks from the highway. This is a region that continues to grow in logistical importance, and we look forward to supporting its growth with safe, reliable service.”

The intermodal ramp won’t be a freeway-style ramp but instead a facility where freight is moved between trains and trucks. Initially, it will open up routes to Seattle and Tacoma docks and as far east as Chicago and beyond, Prince has said. Further expansion also is possible, he has said.

The ramp has been in the works for some time, with the Kansas-based Tiger Cool Express moving it closer to the finish line earlier this year. That company even invited media and stakeholders to the site this past spring to get a peek at plans and operations. But then the company shut down in June.

Prince was a co-founder of Tiger Cool Express. However, the new company is separate and the lease and purchase deal with Union Pacific is unconnected, the statement said. Along with Prince, Tri-Cities Intermodal management includes Justin Roberts, vice president of operations; Tom Smith, vice president of sales and marketing; Zachary Ybarra, vice president of planning, control and information systems; and Cameron Kelley, Liam Marsh, Felicia Moore and Keith Woetzel.