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Yesterday, the Ohio Rail Development Commission approved three freight-rail projects at its regular monthly meeting.

The commission blessed the construction of a two-track rail spur and switch connection to a CSX Transportation mainline that will enable NCI Group Inc. to start a new coiled steel coating operation at a Middletown plant. The new rail infrastructure, which is part of a $12.7 million investment at the site, is expected to generate between 500 and 1,000 carloads annually. The ORDC also approved a $75,000 grant to help fund the project.

The second project approved by the commission calls for rehabilitating a series of bridges on a city of Greenfield-owned line to help Johnson Controls Inc. reopen a plastic foam products plant later this spring. The project also will benefit other rail-dependent shippers on the line, which is served by the Indiana & Ohio Railroad, ORDC officials said in a prepared statement. The commission had approved a $235,000 grant for the project in January, and now decided to add another $35,000 for additional bridge tie replacement and ditch cleaning along several miles of the right of way.

The third project approved by the ORDC calls for reinstalling a switch and rehabilitating a rail spur on a Norfolk Southern Railway line as part of Jamen Corp.’s plan to create a rail-to-truck cement transload facility in Macedonia. The commission agreed to provide a loan up to $350,000 to Jamen, which is working with NS and Mean J Trucking Co. on the project.