advertisement

---

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and state of Michigan have approved a $15.8 million funding agreement to complete the West Detroit Connection Track project, which is designed to eliminate a freight- and passenger-rail bottleneck.

Set to break ground later this year, the project calls for building a new track to separate freight- and passenger-train movements through Bay City Junction. Amtrak’s Wolverine trains will use the new track. West Detroit Junction is a key link between the Dearborn Station and Detroit New Center Station.

The junction also is a key part of the Chicago-Detroit corridor, which has received nearly $400 million in federal investments through the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program. Trains now can operate on the line at speeds up to 110 mph between Porter, Ind., and Kalamazoo, Mich. By 2016, trains will be able to reach 110 mph on 80 percent of the corridor, according to USDOT.

The project will be funded through a $7.9 million Federal Railroad Administration grant, as well as $7.9 million from the state of Michigan.