North Carolina DOT awards grants to fund rail infrastructure projects

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) yesterday announced the award of $16.7 million in matching grant funds to 17 short lines that are pursuing infrastructure projects as part of the state's Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program.

The program supports rail infrastructure health, safety and performance throughout North Carolina, enabling the department to assist railroads with improvement projects so they can operate more efficiently and prepare for growth.

Combined, the grants will support more than $32 million in rail infrastructure improvements statewide, NCDOT officials said in a press release.

Projects awarded funding and their estimated total costs, including railroad matching funds, are as follows:
• Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway Co. (ACWR), $9.1 million, to construct and improve nearly 32,000-feet of track and install new crossties in various locations over 21 miles of track in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery and Moore counties. Also, a storage siding track, three double-ended sidings, an industrial spur and a lead track in a switching yard will be constructed. A crossover and a track for fueling and sanding will be extended, plus two culverts will be improved.
• ACWR, $3 million, to construct two phases of track spur and storage at the short line's shop facility, construct two double-ended passing sidings and install new ties in various locations in Moore and Montgomery counties.
• ACWR, $1.2 million, to construct of a new rail siding extension, a new rail yard and improve a highway-rail grade crossing in Stanly County.
• Aberdeen and Rockfish, $800,000, to install rail and ties, perform surfacing and tamping, and improve the grade-crossing surface along rail corridor in Hoke County.
• Atlantic and Western, $1.4 million, to replace and upgrade rail, install ties, rehabilitate grade crossings and improve a bridge in Lee County.
• Atlantic Railway, $400,000 to install ties, provide bridge improvements and improve sections of the corridor in Stanly County.
• Blue Ride Southern Railroad, $700,000 to improve and modernize bridges along the Canton and Skyland subdivisions in Buncombe and Haywood counties; and $200,000 to complete a second phase of slope stabilization and improvements to the Balsam Mountain slope in the Canton subdivision in Jackson County.
• Caldwell County, $700,000 to install crossties, switch ties and rail on the Hickory Runaround siding; renew grade crossings, address drainage issues and improve embankment roadbed shoulders in Burke, Catawba and Caldwell counties.
• Carolina Coastal Railway, $2.1 million, to install new bridge ties and crossties, plus improve bridges on the Main Line and Rocky Mount Line in Beaufort, Pitt, Greene, Nash and Wilson counties.
• Chesapeake & Albemarle, $800,000, to make track, bridge and other improvements in Chowan, Pasquotank, Camden and Currituck counties.
• Great Smoky Mountains, $1.7 million, to upgrade rail, install new crossties, provide ballast and tamping, improve bridges and provide ultrasonic testing and bridge inspections in Jackson, Graham, Macon and Swain counties.
• Laurinburg and Southern, $1 million, to replace and upgrade rail, upgrade switches and improve crossing surfaces in Scotland County.
• North Carolina and Virginia, $2 million, to replace and upgrade rail, install new crossties, ballast and resurface track, and repair bridges in Bertie, Hertford and Northampton counties.
• North Carolina State Ports Authority, $800,00, to make improvements on track operated by the Carolina Coastal Railway and install new bridge ties and a new locking mechanism on the movable bridge connecting the main port to Radio Island in Carteret County.
• Piedmont and Northern, $1 million, to complete construction of track storage and a second switching lead to a transload facility in Gaston County.
• Red Springs and Northern, $400,000, to install new crossties, culverts and surface track in Robeson County.
• R. J. Corman, $1 million, for new track materials, track surfacing, new crosstie installation, new ballast and improvements to grade crossings in Columbus County.
• Wilmington Terminal, $1.2 million, to upgrade rail on the lead track and turnouts, install new crossties, and ballast and surface track in New Hanover County.
• Yadkin Valley, $1.5 million, to replace and upgrade rail, install new crossties, provide ballast and surface track in Forsyth, Stokes, Surry and Wilkes counties.