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Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) recently approved $11.7 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funds for 24 transportation-related projects designed to ease traffic congestion and reduce air emissions.


CMAQ funds cover up to 80 percent of a project's cost; a project sponsor provides the remainder.


A planning and review agency for nine Pennsylvania and New Jersey counties, DVRPC plans to provide funds for several freight projects designed to reduce truck emissions by promoting rail as a transportation alternative, including:


• Norfolk Southern Railway, $1.1 million, to develop an intermodal terminal at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard to accommodate double-stack trains and divert 150 trucks daily. The project includes rebuilding 2.1 track miles, reconstructing lead tracks and re-installing track under an overpass;

• Brandywine Valley Railroad Company L.L.C., $316,400, to develop a regional transload/intermodal facility in Coatesville, Pa., that would enable bulk-commodity shippers to use rail in lieu of trucks. The project includes rebuilding 1,600 feet of track, installing 300 ties and one switch, and completing drainage, grading and paving; and

• Philadelphia Industrial Development, $200,000, to construct a box-car-to-truck cross-dock transfer terminal designed to transload frozen and refrigerated food in Philadelphia, and eliminate long-haul trucks by diverting freight to rail.