South Dakota rail board OKs grant funds for freight-rail infrastructure

The South Dakota Railroad Board last week approved grant applications for Special Transportation Circumstance (STC) program grants for fiscal-year 2022-2023.

The STC grant program is funded through the federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.

"The STC grant funds are dedicated to provide the financial resources to improve South Dakota’s freight-railroad infrastructure, which is vital to the continued growth and development of our economy," said South Dakota Department of Transportation Secretary Joel Jundt in a press release.

In this grant application cycle, $58.8 million was available for allocation. The approved STC grant applications and federal funding amounts include:

• Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad, $17.6 million;
• Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad, $14 million;
• Dakota & Iowa Railroad, nearly $10 million;
• Ringneck and Western Railroad, $8.3 million;
• Sisseton Milbank Railroad, $3.24 million; and
• Belle Fourche Economic Development Corp., $837,440.

The board also approved an amendment to a 2020 STC Meet and Pass grant for Ringneck and Western Railroad in the amount of $797,353 in STC funds.