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6/1/2022
U.S. lawmakers yesterday announced five federal grants worth more than $46 million have been awarded to rail projects in California and another $15.7 million grant to fund rail infrastructure and safety improvements at the Port of Baltimore.
In Maryland, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded the $15.7 million grant to help fund the construction of four new tracks totaling 16,000 track feet and two crane rail beams totaling 7,000 linear feet within the Port of Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal, members of the state's congressional delegation announced in a press release issued by U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Complementing the construction of the Howard Street Tunnel project, the port project will modernize the terminal’s intermodal yard infrastructure to meet future demand as volume grows at the port. The project will reconfigure the existing rails; help alleviate ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks by shifting cargo from truck to rail; and convert existing diesel-fueled rail-yard equipment to electrified equipment, the lawmakers said.
Meanwhile, in California, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded five grants through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program (CRISI), which funds projects to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) announced in a press release.
The five grantees and their grant amounts and projects are:
• Alameda County Transportation Commission, $25 million, to improve safety at 28 grade crossings and two trespassing sites on Union Pacific Railroad track in Alameda County;
• San Diego Association of Governments, $8 million, to replace the 104-year-old Pacific Surfliner Bridge;
• San Jose State University Research Foundation, $4.6 million, to create a consortium program for the research, education and technology transfer activities aimed at improving the rail network's resilience against extreme events including climate change; and
• two grants for the city of San Jose, one being for $7.5 million, to help begin construction of overpasses and underpasses at three crossings adjacent to intersections with Monterey Road, a high-fatality corridor; and one for $1.2 million, to fund construction of a traffic signal system at the Bascom Avenue crossing on the Vasona rail corridor.