Howard Street Tunnel project receives final environmental OK

The planned Howard Street Tunnel expansion project in Baltimore has received a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) as part of the project review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced yesterday.

The project will expand the 126-year-old Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stacked container trains traveling to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, increasing efficiency and capacity.

NEPA approval allows CSX, which owns the tunnel, to finalize engineering and obtain permits. Construction will occur in phases and is expected to begin later this year, state officials said in a press release.

The project will make vertical clearance improvements at the Howard Street Tunnel and 22 other locations between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Three additional bridges in Baltimore require superstructure work: the North Avenue bridge will be modified and the Guilford Avenue and Harford Road bridges will be fully replaced.

Other locations in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania require track lowering work beneath the structures.

For years, the Howard Street Tunnel reconstruction was estimated to cost  $1 billion to $4 billion, with significant disruption to surrounding communities. By using advances in construction technology, CSX and Maryland determined it’s possible to provide the needed clearance for significantly less money and minimal community impact, officials said.

The cost is now estimated at $466 million, including $202.5 million from Maryland, $125 million from a federal Infrastructure For Rebuilding America grant, $113 million from CSX, $22.5 million from Pennsylvania and $3 million in federal highway-formula funding.

"This project will connect seamless double-stack access from Maine to Florida, and position the Port of Baltimore as the premiere hub to transport cargo up and down the East Coast," said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Greg Slater.