Federal grant will help CSX, Maryland start Howard Street Tunnel project

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan yesterday announced the state will receive a $125 million Infrastructure For Rebuilding America Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation that will enable the long-planned Howard Street Tunnel project to start soon in Baltimore.

To be conducted in partnership with CSX, the more than $450 million project calls for eliminating height restrictions in the 121-year-old tunnel to allow double-stack trains to move to and from the Port of Baltimore. The work will create double-stack clearance in the tunnel and under 22 bridges between Baltimore and Philadelphia.

In late 2016, the state reaffirmed its funding commitment to make infrastructure adjustments to the tunnel. The project will ease a rail bottleneck for the port’s container traffic and reduce truck traffic along the entire Interstate 95 corridor, state officials said in a press release.

"For years, our administration has pursued funding for this critical project, and after a number of roadblocks, we are finally able to move forward on reconstruction," Hogan said. "This grant will help us to break a coast-wide bottleneck, further bolstering our economic success at the port and across the state."